Y^ 


THE  LITTLE  STONE 


THE    GREAT    IMAGE 


OR, 


LECTURES  ON  THE  PROPHECIES 


SYMBOLIZED  IN 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S  VISION 


OF 


THE   GOLDEN    HEADED   MONSTER. 


GEORGE    J  UN  KIN,    D.  D. 

PRESIDENT  OF  MIAMI  UNIVERSITY,  OXFORD,  OHIO. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
JAMES  M.  CAMPBELL  &  CO.  98  CHESTNUT  STREET. 

SAXTON  &  MILES,  205  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 
1844. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1844, 

BY  JAMES  M.  CAMPBELL  &  CO. 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


C.  SHERMAN,  PRINTER, 

19  ST.  JAMES  STREET. 


STUDENTS  OF  LAFAYETTE  COLLEGE, 

AND  OF 

MIAMI  UNIVERSITY, 

SEPARATED  BY  SPACE,  YET  UNITED  IN  NOBLENESS  OP  AIM,  AND 
SINGLENESS  OF  PURPOSE, 

THE    FOLLOWING    PAGES 

ARE  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 
BY  THEIR  SINCERE  FRIEND,  AND  HUMBLE  SERVANT, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


"  Another  book  on  prophecy !  Whence  the  necessity  for  it  ?"  Let  the 
reader  proceed,  and  he  may  perhaps  ascertain  ;  at  least,  let  him  read  the  intro- 
ductory Lecture,  and  he  will  possibly  see  reasons  for  the  opinion  that  the 
"  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ"  is  indeed  a  revelation  ;  that  it  is  not  a  tissue  of 
unexplained  and  inexplicable  mysteries  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  that  it  is  bona  fide 
what  it  professes  to  be,  an  uncovering  of  the  mind  and  will  of  God  concerning 
the  leading  facts  and  dealings  of  his  providence  with  his  Church  and  the  nations 
with  whom  she  has  come  into  collision. 

True  indeed,  another  book  ;  and  yet  I  may  add  that  it  is  not  another  ;  for  the 
pretensions  of  this  work  to  originality  are  humble. 

Though  the  prophetic  portions  of  the  sacred  word  have  comparatively,  both 
to  their  relative  and  absolute  importance,  been  greatly  neglected ;  yet  he  who 
should  urge  pretensions  to  much  that  is  new  in  this  field  of  biblical  discovery, 
would  probably  produce  the  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  learned,  that  his 
modesty  and  his  sense  were  in  direct  proportion.  Still  though  the  leading  fea- 
tures of  prophetic  interpretation  must  necessarily  be  the  same ;  there  are  many 
portions  of  these  writings  whose  meaning  is  not  sifted  and  ascertained  beyond 
a  doubt ;  and  some  which  have  been  supposed  to  be  thus  settled,  may  yet  be 
misunderstood. 

In  selecting  among  such  expositions  as  lay  within  his  reach,  the  author  need 
not  say  that  he  has  exercised  his  best  judgment ;  and  where  he  could  find  no 
explanation  satisfactory,  in  whole  or  in  part,  he  has  endeavoured  to  elaborate 
one  for  himself;  not  on  the  one  hand,  dissenting  for  dissent's  sake;  nor,  on 
the  other,  yielding  his  own  judgment  to  mere  authority.  He  has  generally, 
(and  he  supposes  always  in  important  matters)  acknowledged  his  indebtedness 
to  other  authors ;  though  possibly  those  extensively  acquainted  with  such 
writings  may  find  coincidences  where  there  is  no  acknowledgment.  If  such 
cases  occur,  charity  claims  the  imputation  of  them  to  defect  of  memory,  or  in- 
dependence of  thought,  and  not  to  intention. 

As  to  apologies  for  the  new  book,  the  writer  is  somewhat  at  a  loss.  He  has 
never  acquired  celebrity  in  this  line,  nor  is  it  probable  he  ever  will.  His  opi- 
nion has  long  since  been  made  up  in  regard  to  this  subject ;  and  briefly  it  is, 
that  no  man  has  a  right  to  offer  a  new  work  to  the  public,  unless  he  honestly 
believes  that  he  can  instruct  them,  and  do  them  good.     An  author  who  would 


vi  PREFACE. 

confess  that  the  matters  he  treats  of,  are  better  treated  by  another,  for  the  class 
of  people  whom  he  expects  to  benefit,  would  raise  a  doubt  concerning  either  his 
veracity  or  his  judgment.  For  if  he  truly  believe  that  the  work  of  another  is 
calculated  to  be  of  more  use  to  them,  why  does  he  palm  upon  them  an  inferior 
one?     Or  if  he  thinks  it  not  inferior,  why  does  he  say  so? 

The  ordinary  mode  of  escape  from  this  dilemma  is,  that  a  new  book,  though 
inferior,  will  be  more  likely  to  circulate  than  a  superior,  but  older  one. 

If  then  the  reader  take  the  position,  that  he  will  not  peruse  this  book  unless 
the  author  makes  an  apology  for  publishing  it,  he  may  take  both  these.  The 
author  honestly  believes  that,  for  all  persons  but  imperfectly  informed  upon 
these  subjects,  and  who  have  not  leisure  and  opportunity  to  read  extensively 
concerning  them,  this  book  may  be  more  profitable  than  any  that  is  accessible. 
If  he  thought  otherwise,  he  could  not,  without  a  feeling  of  self-condemnation, 
offer  it  to  the  public.  To  this  opinion,  and  its  expression,  whether  springing 
from  conceit  or  candour,  he  has  been  led  by  its  history  and  contents. 

About  eight  years  ago,  the  attention  of  the  public  was  turned  to  the  alarming 
pretensions  of  Roman  Catholicism.  The  revival  of  the  Jesuit  order,  and  their 
influx  into  our  country,  their  long-established  reputation  for  political  diplomacy, 
and  for  all  the  arts  of  secret  intrigue,  deception,  fraud  and  corruption,  arrested 
afresh  the  attention  of  the  more  vigilant  of  Zion's  watchmen.  The  author's 
cogitations  resulted  in  the  conviction  that  there  was  no  instrument  to  break  the 
Tarpeian  rock  in  pieces,  like  the  hammer  of  God's  word.  Philosophy  might 
pour  forth  its  speculations ;  political  vigilance  might  watch  the  craft  of  free- 
dom's foe ;  patriotism  might  hold  forth  the  sparkling  bosses  of  her  iron  shield 
before  the  breast  of  the  republic  ;  but  none  of  these,  nor  all  of  these  could 
avail  in  the  absence  of  the  living  energies  of  the  word  of  God.  If  the  public 
mind  do  not  look  to  the  original  and  incorruptible  sources  of  divine  revelation 
for  its  enlightenment  on  the  subject  of  Popery,  it  can  never  understand  it.  His- 
tory indeed,  points  to  her  bloodiest  pages  with  tearful  eye,  and  exclaims,  "  Be- 
hold Roman  Catholicism  !"  but  her  lessons,  unaided  by  the  bright  visions  of 
prophetic  inspiration,  can  never  convey  to  the  mind  a  correct  idea  of  the  soul- 
damning  and  nation-desolating  character  of  the  "  Mother  of  harlots."  It  is  not 
until  the  purple  veil  is  lifted  by  the  prophetic  hand,  that  the  hideous  deformity 
it  conceals  is  exposed,  and  "  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate,"  is  truly 
understood,  and  deservedly  abhorred. 

But  in  searching  for  truth  in  the  mine  of  Scripture,  we  should  not  remain 
contented  with  the  few  precious  grains  which  may  offer  themselves  at  the  very 
entrance.  A  mind  deeply  imbued  with  the  love  of  truth  will  not  stop  short  of 
first  principles,  if  they  be  at  all  attainable.  The  last  possible  analysis  only, 
will  give  rest  to  such  a  spirit,  and  the  shadowy  suspicion  that  it  has  not  yet 
arrived  at  ultimate  truth,  will  disturb  its  tranquillity,  and  lead  to  repeated  at- 
tempts at  farther  analysis.  No  real  philosopher,  that  is,  no  man  of  common 
sense,  feels  that  he  has  done  his  duty  to  truth,  that  he  has  paid  the  full  com- 
plement of  devotion  at  her  shrine,  until  he  has  traced  the  chain  of  dependent 


PREFACE.  vii 

causes,  and  found  the  last  link  fastened  to  the  Eternal  Throne.  Somewhat  in 
this  spirit,  the  author  ventures  to  believe  he  has  been  led  back  along  this  chain 
through  twenty-four  centuries,  until  he  found  the  last  link  exhibited  to  the  He- 
brew youth  on  the  banks  of  the  Ulai  and  Euphrates.  His  plan  was  formed. 
This  unbroken  chain,  from  Nimrod  and  Nebuchadnezzar  to  Napoleon  and  "  the 
king  of  the  north ;"  from  the  night  of  Belshazzar's  terrors,  when  the  golden 
head  was  laid  in  the  dust,  to  the  day  of  Antichrist's  consternation,  when  the 
iron  legs  and  feet  shall  be  ground  to  powder  on  the  plain  of  Megiddo,  he  de- 
termined to  lay  before  the  students  of  Lafayette,  and  such  as  might  choose  to 
worship  with  them  in  their  "  Brainard  Hall."  This  was  in  June,  1836:  the 
series  of  Lectures  was  brought  to  a  close  in  March,  1837.  They  were  more 
fully  written,  and  again  delivered  in  the  German  Reformed  Church,  Easton,  in 
1840-41.  After  the  author's  removal  to  Miami  University  in  1841,  the  state 
of  the  country,  and  the  Catholic  question,  seemed  to  require  the  discussion  of 
these  subjects.  The  Lectures  were  therefore  written  out  and  delivered  in  their 
present  form. 

Meanwhile  the  thought  had  occurred  to  others  as  well  as  to  the  writer,  that 
their  publication  might  do  good.  This  was  cherished,  no  doubt,  with  the  over- 
fondness  of  friendship,  by  their  first  auditors,  who  urged  the  matter  in  such 
form  and  manner  as  to  bring  this  book  before  the  public. 

A  consideration  of  no  small  influence  in  securing  consent  to  these  sugges- 
tions of  friendship  and  inducing  the  belief  already  expressed,  as  to  the  possible 
utility  of  the  work,  was,  that  an  American  exposition  of  these  prophecies  was 
needed,  because  some  of  them,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  will  ever  be 
understood  by  British  writers  until  their  accomplishment  shall  have  filled  the 
British  Isles  with  lamentation  and  wo,  and  the  enemies  of  Protestantism  with 
joy  and  exultation.  The  eye  cannot  see  itself.  Self-love  will  not  suffer  English 
expositors  to  regard  their  own  beloved  nation  as  a  horn  of  the  Roman  beast,  a 
portion  of  the  great  image.  This  partiality  renders  it  almost  physically  impos- 
sible for  even  the  giant  scholars  of  Britain  to  give  a  fair  exposition  of  certain 
parts  of  these  prophecies.     (See  Lectures  xix  to  xxi.) 

In  regard  to  the  plan  of  this  work,  it  is  designed  to  exhibit  a  condensed  view 
of  that  great  conflict  which  has  been  waging  in  the  world  ever  since  the  rise  of 
the  first  great  monarchy  under  the  auspices  of  Nimrod, — the  conflict  between 
government  by  physical  force,  and  government  by  moral  law.  The  great 
image  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  is  the  symbol  of  the  former ;  the  little  stone,  of  the 
latter.  The  history  of  this  image,  in  other  words,  of  the  four  great  monarchies, 
is  the  history  of  the  world,  or  at  least  of  that  part  of  it  which  comes  into  con- 
nexion with  the  church  of  God,  or  is  spread  with  any  considerable  distinctness 
before  the  mind  of  Christendom. 

These  two  belligerent  principles  existed  and  warred  prior  to  the  age  of  the 
prophet  Daniel.  But  the  first  embodiment  of  despotism  known  to  us,  was  in 
the  empire  of  Nimrod  ;  and  the  first  embodiment  of  the  moral  power  of  reli- 
gion and  law,  was  in  the  church  established  by  Abraham's  covenant.     This 


viii  PREFACE. 

c  hurch  existed  in  the  time  of  Daniel,  and  as  the  "  little  stone"  then  warred 
against  the  image,  this  warfare  continues  even  to  the  present  day,  and  shall 
continue  until  the  victories  that  usher  in  the  millennium  shall  secure  the  freedom 
of  the  world. 

Such  is  the  conflict  which  these  pages  are  intended  to  delineate ;  and  in  the 
delineation  the  author  trusts  that  he  has  elaborated  the  grand  argument  against 
Roman  Catholic  Antichrist.  The  footsteps  of  the  giant,  or  to  use  the  more 
suitable  symbol  of  the  prophet,  the  track  of  the  beast,  has  been  followed  down, 
through  all  his  windings  in  the  desert  and  the  plain,  through  bog  Serbonian, 
and  over  mountain  cliff,  all  the  way  from-his  stronghold  amid  the  fens  and 
marshes  of  the  Euphrates,  to  his  final  retreat  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  There 
have  we  found  him,  and  thence  must  he  be  dragged  forth  for  destruction,  when 
the  disenthralled  nations  shall  celebrate  their  grand  Auto  da  Fe,  for  the  triumphs 
of  liberty  and  truth. 

As  an  argument  against  Romanism,  these  Lectures  resemble  a  regular  siege, 
wherein  the  first  lines  of  the  assailant  are  drawn  at  a  distance  from  the  walls 
of  the  city  invested.  Under  cover  of  these,  new  lines  and  batteries  are  pushed 
forward,  which  again  become  points  of  assault  to  the  foe,  and  of  protection  to 
the  besieging  army,  while  those  behind  remain  impregnable,  a  sure  refuge  and 
safe  source  of  supply.  Thus  the  prophetic  argument  is  a  complete  line  of  cir- 
cumvallation  around  the  seven-hilled  city.  The  approaches  are  slow  but  sure. 
Every  avenue  is  guarded.  Nothing  is  wanting  to  secure  the  victory  to  Protes- 
tantism, but  faithfulness  to  herself  in  the  patient  use  of  her  heaven-wrought 
panoply,  until  history  hastens  on  to  fill  up  the  few  remaining  pages,  and  com- 
plete her  coincidence  with  prophecy. 

But  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  this  work  is  only  an  argument  against  Po- 
pery. Many  persons  might  turn  half  its  leaves  without  perceiving  this  bearing. 
The  reader  will  find  much  evidence  for  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures, 
much  practical  illustration  and  defence  of  evangelical  doctrine,  and  especially, 
much  reasoning  that  tends  to  show  the  bearings  of  true  religion  upon  the  inte- 
rests of  free  government.  This  last  is,  indeed,  one  capital  object  of  the  entire 
book. 

It  will  also  be  seen,  and  the  author  trusts,  felt,  from  the  latter  parts  of  it, 
that  the  cause  of  Missions  must  be  more  abundantly  patronised  than  heretofore, 
if  the  church  wishes  to  participate  in  the  glories  of  the  coming  days. 

And  now,  in  bidding  the  reader  farewell,  and  in  commending  this  humble 
production  to  Him  whose  testimony  is  "  the  spirit  of  prophecy,"  permit  the  au- 
thor to  express  the  hope  that  the  perusal  of  it  may  afford  the  same  enjoyment 
as  the  various  writings  and  deliveries  have  done ;  then  will  the  cost  and  labour 
have  received  a  great  recompense  of  reward. 

Oxford,  Ohio,  July  22nd,  1843. 


LECTURES    ON    PROPHECY. 


LECTURE  I. 

"  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those 
things  which  are  written  therein  ;  for  the  time 
is  at  hand." — Rev.  i.  3. 

Time  is  measured  duration.  Its  most 
natural  division  is  into  the*  present,  the 
past,  and  the  future.  In  this  order  we 
have  to  do  with  it ;  and  hence,  in  this 
order  we  most  easily  contemplate  it. 
We  exist  in  the  present,  by  the  aid  and 
means  of  the  past,  and  for  the  future. 
The  consciousness  of  our  own  activities 
awakens  us  to  inquiry ;  and  each  asks 
himself,  What  am  I? — Whence  came 
I  ? — Whither  do  I  go  ? 

Of  these  inquiries  the  first  has  occu- 
pied the  largest  share  of  man's  attention. 
It  covers  the  whole  ground  of  physiology, 
and  of  mental  and  moral  philosophy.  In 
its  prosecution  the  inquirer  often  speaks 
paradoxes.     He  exhibits  himself, 

"  An  insect  infinite, 
Midway  from  nothing  to  the  Deity !" 

He  is  carried  back  into  the  past ;  for 
consciousness  and  memory  are  actor 
and  chronicler  to  each  other ;  and  the 
resulting  registry  speedily  becomes  the 
basis  of  reflections  and  reasonings, 
which  bear  the  mind  forward  toward 
coming  events.  And  here  we  have  one 
of  the  strongly  marked  characteristics 
of  our  nature — the  disposition  to  infer 
what   will    be,   from    what    has   been. 


Such  is  our  natural  constitution,  that 
the  past  is  to  us  a  mirror,  reflecting,  in 
visions  less  or  more  brilliant  and  accu- 
rate, the  realities  of  the  future.  It  is  by 
noting  events  as  they  are,  and  have 
been,  that  man  becomes  endowed  with 
a  prescience  which  darts  its  vision  for- 
ward into  the  distance.  Observation, 
which  furnishes  him  with  the  knowledge 
of  things,  and  experience,  which  results 
from  reasoning  upon  them,  are  the  only 
natural  sources  of  this  prescience :  it  is 
therefore  obviously  built  upon  the  hypo- 
thesis, that  the  course  of  events  shall 
continue  as  heretofore.  In  other  words, 
man's  knowledge  of  the  future,  so  far  as 
it  is  unaided  by  revelation,  is  dependent 
upon  God's  unchanging  plan  for  the 
government  of  his  world.  If  there  is 
nothing  new  under  the  sun, — if  similar 
combinations  of  circumstances  will  be 
followed  by  similar  results,  then  man 
can  pry  into  futurity  to  a  certain  extent. 
But  this  foreknowledge  in  man,  both  as 
to  extent  and  correctness,  will  depend 
precisely  upon  the  amount  and  accuracy 
of  his  observations  heretofore,  and  of  his 
reasonings  upon  the  facts  observed. 

But  the  particular  point  to  which  our 
subject  leads  us,  is  that  strongly  marked 
peculiarity  of  our  nature, — the  insatiable 
desire  to  know  the  future.  This  deve- 
lopes  itself  very  early,  and  continues 
throughout  life.  Little  children  wish  to 
know  what  will  be  on  the  morrow ;  and 
old  men,  without  the  fabled  second  sio-ht, 


10 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


turn  their  inquiring  eyes  to  that  which 
is  prospective.  Though  often  heedless 
of  the  past,  content  with  a  very  slender 
acquaintance  with  its  important  lessons, 
and  little  disposed  to  improve  the  pre- 
sent;  all  desire  to  forestall  the  future. 
In  very  many, — perhaps  a  majority,  it 
is  a  vain  curiosity,  unproductive  of  any 
beneficial  influences  upon  present  action. 
It  often  merely  excites  the  imagination, 
and  results  in  the  unreal  creations  of 
fancy  scenes,  destined  never  to  be  em- 
bodied in  forms  of  substantial  truth  ;  but 
to  pass  away  and  leave  the  mind  be- 
wildered in  the  labyrinth  of  its  own 
thoughts,  and  incompetent,  for  a  time, 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  realities  of 
being.  Yet  still,  these  very  reveries 
are  evidence  of  the  desire  to  pry  into 
futurity  ;  and  the  more  gorgeous  and 
extravagant  they  become,  the  more  do 
they  manifest  the  energy  of  that  cha- 
racteristic, which  leads  the  mind  to- 
ward "  the  things  which  shall  be  here- 
after." 

This  principle  constitutes  the  basis  of 
the  chief  argument  in  the  system  of 
natural  religion,  by  which  we  prove  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments.  From 
its  exercise  in  the  heathen  mind  have 
sprung  Orcus,  Hades,  Elysium.  Their 
poets  were  prophets  also,  and  were  often 
called  by  a  name  common  to  both  offices. 
Nor  have  pretensions  to  prophetic  vision 
been  confined  to  barbarous  and  unchris- 
tian ages.  We  have  them  still.  Not 
that  they  are  part  and  portion  of  our 
civilization  and  Christianity;  but  they 
are  proof  of  the  existence,  in  man's  bo- 
som, of  a  fixed  principle  ever  impelling 
him  to  throw  his  thoughts  forward.  Per- 
petually urged  on  by  a  desire  of  happi- 
ness, he  stands  upon  his  watchtower ; 
and  whether  he  glance  backward  or  fix 
his  eye  upon  the  distant  and  tardy  move- 
ments of  advancing  time,  he  is  in  quest 
of  that  which  will  in  the  highest  degree 
promote  the  blessedness  of  his  being. 
And  if,  in  this  prospective  gaze  he  is 
guided  by  prudence,  our  text  assures 
him  his  labour  shall  not  be  in  vain; 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 
that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy  ; 


and  keep  those  things  which  are  written 
therein  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand." 

The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  trans- 
lated, readeth,  is,  to  know,  or  recognise 
again, — to  know  fully  and  effectually. 
It  implies  that  the  things  in  question 
have  been  once  known  ; — when  they 
were  written  ;  and  now  they  are  known 
again. 

The  design  of  writing  is,  that  the 
thing's  recorded  shall  be  again  known. 
Yet  from  the  imperfection  of  human 
language,  this  is  not  always  the  case. 
"  Understandest  thou  what  thou  read- 
est?" — Knowest  thou  the  things  the  pro- 
phet knew  1  Happy  art  thou,  if  thou 
do  them  !  He  that  knows  again,  or 
clearly  understands  the  words, — the 
doctrines  of  this  prophecy,  is  a  happy 
man  ;  he  is  blessed ;  his  mind  is  pos- 
sessed of  subjects  for  thought  and  reflec- 
tion which  must  lead  him  to  admire, 
adore,  and  wonder  at  the  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  power  of  God  ;  filling  his  soul 
with  emotions  of  rapture  and  delight. 

To  hear,  in  Scripture,  implies  more 
than  a  simple  reception  of  sound  by  the 
organ,  and  the  consequent  perception  of 
the  mind.  It  involves  a  view  of  things 
as  true,  and  a  practical  reliance  upon 
them.  It  is  equivalent  to  believing. 
The  prophet  was  commanded  to  speak 
to  Israel,  "  whether  they  will  hear  or 
whether  they  will  forbear," — whether 
they  would  obey  his  voice  or  not.  "  He 
that  is  of  God  heareth  God's  words." 
"  My  sheep  hear  my  voice  ;"  my  people 
believe  and  practise  my  doctrines. 
Blessed  are  they  who  believe  the  doc- 
trines of  this  prophetic  book  and  act 
accordingly. 

To  jjrophesy  is  to  speak  beforehand, 
— to  predict, — to  describe  things  prim- 
to  their  occurrence.  It  implies  a  know- 
ledge of  the  things,  and,  in  reference  to 
events  greatly  distant  in  time  and  where 
man  cannot  trace  their  dependence  upon 
known  laws  of  nature,  it  bespeaks  omni- 
science. God  only  sees  the  end  from 
the  beginning.  The  particular  prophecy 
in  question  in  this  text,  is  obviously  the 
revelation,  or  uncovering  spoken  of  in 
the  first  verse.  "  A  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ." 


LECTURE  I. 


11 


To  keep,  is, — to  lay  by, — to  treasure 
up.  "  Thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine 
until  now."  The  original  term  is  used 
thirty-seven  times  by  the  Apostle  John, 
and  always  in  the  same  general  sense : 
chiefly  in  reference  to  moral  duty.  "  If 
a  man  keep  my  saying, — obey  me,  he 
shall  never  see  death," — "  he  keepeth 
not  the  Sabbath  day."  "  If  ye  love  me, 
keep  my  commandments."  "  We  keep 
his  commandments."  "Thou  hast  kept 
my  word."  "  Which  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God."  The  word  is  also 
applied  in  this  sense  here, — "  keeping 
the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book."  The  meaning  is  clear.  It  is 
the  treasuring  up,  in  the  mind,  of  God's 
truth,  and  the  governing  of  our  con- 
duct according  to  it ; — the  doing  of  the 
things,  so  far  as  his  providence  opens 
the  door. 

"  The  time  is  at  hand."  The  word 
signifies  season,  occasion,  suitable  op- 
portunity. "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know 
the  times  or  the  seasons" — (Acts  i.  7.) 
The  proper  season  or  period  for  these 
events  is  at  hand.  Not  that  the  whole 
extended  and  complicated  series  of  events 
is  immediately  to  take  place ;  but  the 
season,  or  portion  of  time  within  which 
they  will  occur,  is  just  about  to  begin. 
The  chain  of  events  whose  first  links 
depend  hence,  runs  down  to  distant 
ages  ;  the  system  of  prophecy  covers  all 
coming  time,  beginning  with  that  which 
now  is. 

The  text,  thus  explained,  gives  us 
this  general  doctrine :  that  the  study  of 
the  prophetic  writings,  especially  of  those 
ripe  for  accomplishment,  and  the  belief 
and  practice  of  the  doctrines  they  teach, 
are  greatly  conducive  to  human  happi- 
ness. 

In  farther  prosecution  of  this  subject 
let  us  consider, 

I.  The  duty  of  diligently  reading  and 
studying  the  prophetic  writings. 

II.  How  the  knowledge  of  their  con- 
tents greatly  conduces  to  man's  happi- 
ness. 

III.  The  motives  to  such  diligent 
study. 

I.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  who  have  ac- 
cess to  the  prophetic  writings,  or  to  the 


expositions  of  them  by  an  authorized 
ministry,  to  use  all  diligence  in  ac- 
quiring a  knowledge  of  their  contents. 

1.  This  may  fairly  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  of  their  having  been  written. 
The  design  of  writing  anything  is,  that 
it  may  be  read  ;  and  the  design  of  de- 
livering a  writing  into  any  particular  in- 
dividual's hands ;  or  of  proceeding  to 
read  and  explain  it  before  him,  is  mani- 
festly, that  he  may  know  its  contents 
and  meaning.  God  has  committed  a 
great  variety  of  prophetic  doctrines  to 
writing.  He  has  placed  in  our  hands 
the  book  which  contains  them.  He  has 
taught  us  in  the  movements  of  his  holy 
providence  to  read,  and  given  us  an  un- 
derstanding to  comprehend.  He  has 
sent  special  messengers  to  us,  with  this 
book  in  their  hands,  and  with  express 
instructions  to  read  and  explain  it  to  us  : 
can  any  one  suppose  that  it  is  not  his 
will  that  we  should  read,  study,  and 
hearken  to  the  exposition  of  it ! 

2.  But  the  same  may  be  inferred 
from  the  existence  in  us  of  a  strong 
propensity  to  gaze  forward.  It  is  the 
Creator's  will  that  we  should  exercise 
this  disposition.  We  should  look  to  the 
future  and  acquire  all  such  knowledge 
of  it  as  may  be  profitable  to  us.  And  if 
so,  of  course,  we  are  obliged  to  use  all 
lawful  means  to  attain  to  such  know- 
ledge. There  is  nothing  unreasonable, 
nothing  improper,  in  the  indulgence  of 
this  desire.  On  the  contrary,  he  who 
does  not  look  forward, — who  does  not 
ponder  the  path  of  his  feet — who  does 
not  provide  for  the  future,  is  unreason- 
able; he  neglects  duty. 

3.  The  command,  "  search  the  Scrip- 
tures," includes  and  inculcates  the  duty 
of  studying  the  prophetic  writings :  for 
these  constitute  part  and  portion  of"  the 
Scriptures:"  indeed,  they  constitute  a 
very  large  part  of  the  sacred  volume. 
The  injunction  at  that  time  referred  ex- 
clusively to  the  Old  Testament,  which 
the  Hebrews  had  popularly  thrown  into 
three  general  divisions; — the  Law  of 
Moses,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets. 
There  is  no  intimation,  that  any  part 
was  to  be  excluded  from  their  researches. 
It  is   not  said,   search   this  division  or 


12 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


that ;  but  in  general,  search  the  Scrip- 
tures,— the  historic,  the  didactic,  the 
poetic,  the  legal,  the  prophetic, — search 
all  the  Scriptures.  This  falls  in  pre- 
cisely with  Paul's  remark  to  Timothy, 
"  All  the  Scripture  is  given  by  inspira- 
tion of  God,  and  is  profitable," — not 
this  or  that  part,  but  all  "  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction, 
for  instruction  in  righteousness,"  (2 
Tim.  iii.  15.)  Accordingly,  it  was  the 
prophetic  writings  which  the  Bereans 
searched,  and  for  searching  which  they 
are  said  to  have  been  "  more  noble." 
(Acts  xvii.  2.)  The  question  before  their 
minds  was,  whether  this  Jesus  was  the 
Christ — the  Messiah  of  the  prophets  ; 
and  this  could  be  settled  only  by  exa- 
mining what  the  prophetic  writings  fore- 
told of  the  Messiah,  and  comparing  that 
with  the  character  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
They  did  so,  and  found  by  studying  the 
prophets,  the  blessedness  of  their  souls. 

Objection  1 .  We  are  told  that  the  main 
design  of  prophecy  is  to  confirm  the 
faith  of  the  Church  after  its  fulfilment, 
and  consequently  it  is  fulfilled  prophecy 
that  is  meant,  and  to  this  our  attention 
should  chiefly  if  not  wholly  be  confined. 
The  Bereans  studied  only  the  fulfilled 
prophecies. 

To  this  objection  we  would  say,  Where 
is  the  proof?  When  was  it  said,  search 
the  law,  the  psalms  and  the  fulfilled  pro- 
phecies ?  Does  Luke  say  that  the  Be- 
reans searched  the  accomplished  prophe- 
cies? 

Again  :  how  could  the  Bereans,  or  any 
one  else,  know  whether  any  prophecy 
was  fulfilled,  until  they  had  studied  it 
carefully,  searched  into  history,  and  com- 
pared the  prophetic  or  antedated  history 
with  the  postdated  history  ?  How  shall 
any  one  discover,  that  this  or  that  pro- 
phetic vision  has  ever  been  embodied  in 
fact?  Is  it  reasonable  to  pronounce,  with- 
out examination,  that  any  given  part  is 
unfulfilled?  This  would  be  an  arrogant 
assumption  of  prophetic  dictation.  Until, 
therefore,  some  seer  shall  give  us  a 
catalogue  of  the  fulfilled  and  unfulfilled 
prophecies,  the  rule  of  limiting  our  re- 
searches to  the  one  or  the  other  class 
is  impracticable. 


We  admit  that  the  confirmation  of  the 
Church's  faith  is  a  very  important  use 
of  prophecy,  and  a  use  confined  to  those 
which  are  accomplished.  But  we  also 
contend,  that  this  confirmation  of  her 
faith  falls  in  with  another  leading  design 
of  prophecy ;  both  are  to  prepare  her 
for  future  duty.  God's  predictions  have 
been  fulfilled  in  the  past,  hence  our  eye 
is  turned  to  the  future  and  fixed  on  the 
predictions  that  remain. 

But  again, — our  reply  to  this  objection 
acquires  great  strength  from  considering 
the  fact,  that  the  prophecies  of  sacred 
scripture  constitute  a  system.  True, 
there  is  a  considerable  number  of  insu- 
lated predictions,  such  as  those  relating 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Tyre 
and  Nineveh  ;  but  there  is  besides  these 
an  extended  system,  reaching  from  the 
days  of  Nimrod,  or  the  foundation  of 
the  Assyrio-Babylonian  empire,  down  to 
the  final  destruction  of  the  Roman  beast, 
Antichrist,  and  the  glorious  light  of  the 
millennial  day.  This  it  is  which  consti- 
tutes the  burden  of  this  series  of  lectures. 
It  is  perfectly  impossible  to  settle  a  hun- 
dred questions  that  may  arise,  relative 
to  different  parts  of  the  system,  unless  the 
mind  can  take  a  comprehensive  glance 
of  the  whole.  How  can  we  tell  whether 
the  fifth  seal  of  the  Apocalypse  has  been 
opened  or  not,  but  by  tracing  those  which 
have  preceded  ?  How  can  we  know 
whether  the  seventh  vial  is  poured  out, 
but  by  comparing  history  and  prophecy  ? 
This  rule  of  restriction  is  unavailable. 
The  navigator  can  see  but  half  the  starry 
firmament  at  once,  yea,  he  may  discern 
only  a  small  section  of  that  which  is  above 
his  horizon  ;  but  if  he  know  the  rela- 
tions of  the  visible  to  the  invisible  parts,  he 
can  take  his  observations  from  his  leading 
star,  make  his  calculations,  and  guide  his 
ship  through  the  midnight  instantly  pro- 
duced by  the  clouds  that  hide  his  twink- 
ling director  :  so  the  Christian  student 
of  prophecy,  who  has  already  thrown 
his  eye  over  the  whole  horizon,  feels 
himself  safe  under  the  guidance  of  a 
particular  constellation,  because  he  un- 
derstands its  relative  position  in  the  Zo- 
diac. If  the  mariner  had  not  this  gene- 
ral knowledge,   his  perceiving  a  single 


LECTURE  I. 


13 


star  peering  through  a  fracture  in  the 
clouds,  could  be  of  no  possible  advan- 
tage to  him.  Had  not  the  Christian  navi- 
gator a  general  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
phetic horizon,  he  could  not  safely  avail 
himself  of  any  one  particular. 

Objection  2.  But  this  objection  is  near- 
ly allied  to  another.  Expounders  of  pro- 
phecy have  too  often  become  prophets 
themselves.  Forgetting  their  office, — 
that  of  mere  exposition, — they  have  in 
their  attempts  to  apply  unfulfilled  pro- 
phecy, assumed  the  prophetic  style,  and 
injured  the  cause  of  sound  biblical  inter- 
pretation. This  objection  was  raised  by 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful expounders  of  prophecy,  and  has 
been  mentioned  by  most  writers  since 
his  day.  But  if  it  mean  any  thing  more 
than  a  salutary  caution,  it  is  not  valid. 
If,  on  account  of  the  errors  of  some,  it 
mean  to  shut  the  door  of  inquiry  in  re- 
gard to  prophecy,  fulfilled  or  unfulfilled, 
we  think  it  inadmissible ;  because  it 
would  preclude  all  interpretation  of  scrip- 
ture ;  for  many  commentators  have 
taught  false  doctrine  in  expounding  the 
historic,  the  legal,  the  poetic  scriptures. 
The  rashness,  ignorance,  pride  or  per- 
versity of  an  expositor,  is  not  a  good 
reason  why  prudence,  humility,  honesty 
and  good  sense  should  for  ever  stand 
aloof  and  leave  the  Bible  untranslated 
and  unread.  Folly,  in  her  wilfulness, 
may  rush  into  the  pit  with  her  glaring 
torchlight,  and  perish  amid  the  explo- 
sion of  its  noxious  vapours  ; — should 
Caution  therefore  fear  to  descend  with 
her  safety-lamp,  and  gather  the  riches 
which  lie  beneath  ? 

"  The  design  of  prophecy  is  not  to 
make  men  prophets."  Whilst  this  is  true 
in  one  sense,  it  is  not  so  in  another.  It  is 
true,  if  it  mean  that  the  prophetic  wri- 
tings do  not  authorize  men  to  launch 
forth  into  new  revelations,  and  present 
the  products  of  their  own  fancy  for  the 
oracles  of  God.  It  is  not  true,  if  it  mean 
that  the  expounder  of  prophecy  must 
not  explain  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
and  give  a  general  representation  of 
the  future  events  to  which  it  refers.  On 
the  contrary,  such  exposition  is  a  duty, 
and  the  matter  uttered   as  the  result  of 


it  is  prophecy  ;  not  man's,  indeed,  but 
God's,  provided  the  expositor  is  correct. 
For  neglecting  to  pursue  this  very  course, 
and  in  this  sense  prophesying,  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  were  reproved.  "O  ye 
hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the  face  of 
the  sky ;  but  can  ye  not  discern  the 
signs  of  the  times."  (Matt.  xvi.  3.)  It 
was  their  duty  to  read  and  study  the 
prophets,  and  to  compare  them  with  the 
present  state  of  things,  that  they  might 
thereby  know  the  coming  events,  and  be 
prepared  for  acting  their  part  in  them. 

Objection  3.  Another  form  of  this  ob- 
jection, as  it  is  in  reality,  is  the  allega- 
tion of  extreme  difficulty.  This  class  of 
writings  is  obscure — designedly  obscure. 
Symbols  are  used  to  cover  over  the  truth, 
that  it  may  lie  hidden  until  after  the 
event ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not  proper  to 
attempt  an  explanation,  until  Providence, 
by  its  fulfilment,  makes  prophetic  sym- 
bols plain. 

Here,  again,  we  have  truth  so  stated 
that  it  may  appear  as  error.  It  is  true, 
that  such  partial  concealment  is  practised 
in  mercy  to  man.  God  hides  many 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent.  If 
prophetic  language  were  so  plain  as  to 
make  the  sense  obvious  at  first  sight, 
men  would  set  themselves,  like  Julian 
the  apostate,  to  falsify  the  Bible  by  pre- 
venting the  facts  its  predicts.  To  cut  off 
this  form  of  wickedness,  God  oftentimes 
leaves  truth  in  obscurity.  Admitting  this 
to  a  certain  extent,  we  still  contend,  that 
obscurity  of  language  and  symbol  is  not 
of  itself  evidence  of  such  an  intention 
to  conceal,  as  justifies  us  in  neglecting  to 
study.  To  the  inattentive  and  careless, 
many  of  the  didactic  and  devotional  parts 
of  scripture  are  obscure,  and  often  ab- 
solutely unintelligible  :  whilst  to  the  dili- 
gent and  studious  they  are  simple  and 
plain.  Men  may  not  cover  their  own 
indolence  and  sinful  neglect  under  the 
mantle  of  devotion  and  reverence  for 
God's  authority.  "  Some  parts  of  scrip- 
ture are  hard  to  be  understood."  What 
then?  Fold  up  our  hands  and  stand 
aghast  at  the  first  difficulty?  Not  by 
any  means ;  but  rather  double  our  dili- 
gence, and  lay  out  our  strength  with  in- 
creased   liberality.     One   of  the   very 


14 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


reasons  of  the  difficulty  is,  that  our 
faculties  may  be  the  more  fully  called 
into  action  in  surmounting  them.  And 
this  accords  precisely  with  the  divine  ad- 
ministration in  other  respects.  It  had 
been  easy  for  Infinite  Power  to  have  so 
constructed  the  world,  that  man  should 
procure  his  bread  without  labour,  but 
would  it  have  been  best  for  him  ?  God 
could  have  so  arranged  things  that  all 
sciences  would  have  lain  open  to  the 
mind,  and  all  men  have  been  great  phi- 
losophers without  the  immense  labour 
and  research  which  are  now  requisite. 
But  it  is  not  so  in  fact.  The  author  of 
revelation  might  have  made  the  prophe- 
cies, and  all  the  other  scriptures,  plain  to 
the  very'  careless  and  indolent ;  but  it 
has  pleased  him  to  act  here  also  on  the 
general  rule,  that  "  the  hand  of  the  dili- 
gent maketh  rich."  The  difficulty  in 
question  may  be  a  reason  why  we  should 
the  more  earnestly  exert  ourselves  ;  but 
it  creates  no  reason  whatever,  why  we 
should  pass  by  the  prophets  as  sealed 
books ;  unless  indeed  it  could  be  made 
to  appear,  that  the  difficulty  is  insur- 
mountable. But  the  truth  is,  that  ne- 
glect of  the  prophets,  under  this  very 
apprehension,  is  largely  the  cause  of  the 
obscurity  complained  of,  and  is  pleaded 
as  a  reason  of  farther  neglect.  Were 
these  books  studied — had  they  been  stu- 
died in  all  ages  of  the  church,  with  a 
diligence  pi'oportional  to  their  impor- 
tance, they  would  have  been  better  un- 
derstood, and  we  should  not  have  been 
ignorant  of  many  great  and  glorious 
events  now  upon  the  very  eve  of  occur- 
rence. Even  the  wise  virgins  slumbered 
and  slept,  until  the  bridegroom  was  near. 

II.  Let  us  proceed  to  consider  our 
next  position  :  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
prophetic  writings  is  highly  conducive 
to  man's  happiness. 

1.  The  diligent  student  of  the  pro- 
phecies will  discover  in  those  fulfilled, 
such  evidences  of  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness  of  God  toward  his  church, 
as  will  fill  his  soul  with  wonder  and 
love.  He  will  soon  learn  that  the  entire 
government  of  God  over  the  nations,  is 
subservient  to  the  interests  of  Zion.  For 
the  promotion  of  her  welfare,   empires 


rise,  prosper,  and  fall.  Amid  all  their 
concussions  and  apparent  confusion,  he 
will  be  able  to  see  the  finger  of  Omni- 
potence, directing  every  movement  to- 
ward that  result  required  by  the  interests 
of  his  believing  people. 

2.  He  will  find  material  in  great 
abundance  to  upturn  and  hurl  down  the 
crazy  and  fantastic  fabric  of  infidelity. 
Predictions  of  two  thousand  years' stand- 
ing, he  will  see  to  be  in  the  high  road 
of  accomplishment  at  this  hour,  and  his 
own  faith  in  the  divine  inspiration  of  the 
volume  which  contains  them,  will  be 
settled  upon  the  immovable  rock.  So 
far  from  losing  his  faith  amid  the  ruins 
of  ancient  cities  and  empires,  like  the 
philosophic  sciolist,  he  will  see  in  the 
very  rubbish  that  surrounds  him,  the 
outgoings  of  God's  wrath,  agreeably  to 
the  prophetic  vision ;  and  whilst  he 
gazes  upon  the  desolations  which  pro- 
phecy long  ago  pointed  out,  he  will 
kindle  anew  at  the  wisdom  and  power 
of  the  Redeemer,  and  will  exclaim  in 
the  felt  adoration  of  his  heart,  "  Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth." 

3.  He  will  acquire  a  knowledge  of  his 
own  position  ;  of  the  position  of  his  own 
country  and  of  others;  and  of  the  church, 
in  reference  to  the  great  events  of  the 
coming  times.  The  riddle  of  nations 
will  be  solved.  Reasons,  otherwise  un- 
known, will  flash  upon  his  mind,  for 
many  great  national  movements.  He 
will  learn  to  bring  God  into  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  and  to  view  man  as 
a  mere  instrument  in  the  divine  hand, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes  of 
wrath  and  of  mercy.  He  will  see  most 
abundant  reason  to  believe  that  the 
church,  the  true  church  of  God,  which 
he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood, 
is  the  society  for  which  all  others  exist; 
— "  the  little  stone  cut  out  of  the  moun- 
tain without  hands,"  he  will  see,  is  in- 
deed the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house, 
which  he  will  establish  in  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  and  exalt  above  the  hills; 
and  that  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it. 

4.  He  will  acquire  thus  one  of  the 
much  neglected,  but  all-important  quali- 
fications of  a  sound  statesman.  He  that 
loses  sight   of  the   church  in  his  poli- 


LECTURE  I. 


15 


tical  investigations,  may  do  for  a  party 
wrangler  in  an  election  canvass,  where 
the  parties  in  and  out  of  power,  are  the 
only  ones  interested ;  but  he  is  unfit  to 
look  at  any  great  question  regarding  the 
politics  of  nations.  Such  a  man  has  yet 
to  discover  the  strongest  principle  of 
human  action ;  and  one  that,  in  all 
ages,  has  influenced  most  powerfully 
the  destiny  of  nations.  Religion  and 
the  church,  or  the  body  of  religious 
people,  have  had  more  to  do  in  the 
counsels  of  men  as  well  as  those  of  God, 
than  any  other  principle  or  society,  in 
affecting  the  weal  or  wo  of  empires  ; 
and  the  study  of  prophecy  tends  largely 
to  develope  the  results  of  their  action. 

5.  The  most  happy  influences  will  be 
operated  upon  the  person's  fitness  for 
duty,  whether  in  the  church  or  the  state. 
He  will  not  be  taken  at  unawares  ;  but 
having  a  correct  understanding  of  the 
great  events  yet  future,  he  will  be  pre- 
pared for  them.  His  eye  will  be  ever 
upon  the  secret  and  the  more  open  move- 
ments that  portend  revolution ;  and  he 
will  be  able  to  detect  the  future  general 
results,  which  prophecy  makes  certain, 
in  the  causes  now  operating  toward  their 
production.  "  A  prudent  man  fore- 
seeth  the  evil,  and  hideth  himself;  but 
the  simple  runneth  on  and  is  punished." 
Such  an  one  will  not  be  found  crying 
"  peace,  peace !"  at  the  very  hour  when 
swift  destruction  is  on  the  wing.  The 
hearing  of  the  ear  has  arrested  his  at- 
tention, and  he  is  ready  for  the  crisis. 
"  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom  his 
Master,  when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so 
watching." 

HI.  The  motives  to  the  study  of  pro- 
phecy, claim  our  attention. 

One  of  the  principal  is  already  stated. 
The  happy  results  are  a  strong  induce- 
ment, and  have  just  been  pointed  out. 
We  therefore  pass  on  to  the  only  one 
formally  presented  in  the  text, — "  for 
the  time  is  at  hand," — the  season  for 
these  things  is  near.  It  has  also  been 
observed  that  the  things  predicted  in  this 
book  extend  to  all  coming  time  ;  this 
grand  system  reaches  to  the  millennium 
and  beyond  it:  consequently,  when  it  is 
said,  the  season  is  at  hand,  the  reference 


is  to  certain  of  the  events.  The  sum  of 
the  things  written  in  this  book  will  speedi- 
ly begin  to  be  developed. 

Now,  whether  this  Apocalypse  was 
written  during  the  Neronian  persecu- 
tion, about  A.  D.  68,  or,  as  is  more  pro- 
bable, during  the  Dioclesian  persecution, 
about  A.  D.  98,  part  of  "  the  things 
which  shall  be  hereafter,"  were  indeed 
near.  The  first  seal,  as  we  shall  see, 
announces  the  rapid,  and  triumphant 
spread  of  the  gospel.  Its  harbingers 
had  already  gone  forth,  and  the  cause 
had  made  considerable  advance.  Nor 
were  the  bloody  contents  of  the  second 
seal  far  in  the  distance. 

We  might,  however,  refer  to  the 
things  which  are,  and  the  things  which 
John  had  seen,  verse  19,  as  being  in 
the  book  and  near  at  hand.  The  state 
of  the  seven  churches  of  Asia  is  de- 
scribed, and  messages  are  addressed  to 
them,  suited  to  their  respective  charac- 
ters and  conditions ;  and  these  were 
truly  near,  both  as  to  time  and  place. 
But  the  proximity  of  any  of  the  things 
written  in  this  prophecy,  to  the  time  of 
the  writing,  is  not  now  the  practical 
question.  All  that  was  near  then  in  the 
future,  is  now  distant  in  the  past.  Our 
concern  is  with  the  truth  of  the  reason, 
as  to  what  is  future  and  near  to  us.  Is 
there  reason  to  believe,  that  among  "  the 
things  that  shall  be  hereafter,"  some  of 
great  and  commanding  interest,  deeply 
affecting  our  nation,  and  all  other  na- 
tions,— fearfully  important  to  the  inte- 
rests of  Zion  and  the  glory  of  her  ever- 
living  Head,  are  near  to  come  ?  Are 
we  on  the  eve  of  most  eventful  revolu- 
tions in  empire?  Are  the  governments 
of  this  world,  very  shortly,  to  undergo 
most  fearful  overturnings  ?  Is  the  God 
of  Israel  and  the  Governor  among  the 
nations,  about  to  "  dash  the  potsherds  of 
the  earth  against  the  potsherds  of  the 
earth  V  Is  he  about  to  display  his 
holy  arm  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  people  ; 
in  the  terrors  of  his  judgment  upon  them 
for  their  tyrannical  oppression ;  in  the 
sweeping  vengeance  of  his  almighty 
power,  for  their  persecution  of  his 
church;  in  the  glorious  manifestation  of 
his   truth    and    the    upbuilding   of  that 


16 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


kingdom  which  is  "  righteousness  and 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  ?" 

What  say  the  visions  of  prophecy, 
and  the  signs  of  the  times  ?  What  mean 
these  mighty  heavings, — these  subterra- 
nean motions, — these  tremendous  pulsa- 
tions in  the  body  politic  all  over  Europe? 
Is  not  the  giant  of  Despotism  labouring 
under  some  spasmodic  agony  that  must 
soon  burst  forth  in  convulsions  that  will 
shake  his  very  frame  to  atoms  ?  Is  not 
the  master  power  of  Europe,  on  whose 
empire  the  sun  never  sets,  and  whose 
policy  may  be  changed  by  the  pettish 
mood  of  a  woman,  grasping  after  empire, 
with  an  eagerness  and  greed  and  reck- 
lessness, hitherto  unparalleled,  even  in 
her  history  ?  And  can  we  not  see  in 
these  preternatural  symptoms,  the  pre- 
cursor of  some  fearful  reversion  ? 
"  Watchman,  what  of  the  night !"  Do 
the  visions  of  prophecy  let  down  no  ray 
upon  the  darkness  of  this  scenery  ?  Will 
the  nations  awake  to  liberty  in  a  mo- 
ment,— in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  ?  Will 
the  giant  of  despotic  rule  lay  his  head 
peacefully  upon  his  pillow  at  night,  and 
awake  in  the  morning  the  friend  of  free- 
dom and  of  man  ?  Or  will  he  quiver 
out  a  lingering  death,  pierced  to  the  heart 
by  the  sword  of  truth  ? 

Will  the  mid-day  of  millennial  glory 
burst  upon  the  world  at  once  ?  Will  "  no 
glory-beaming  star"  usher  in  her  bright 
morning?  "Tell  us,  watchman  of  the 
night !" 

Thus,  brethren,  the  yearnings  of  the 
heart,  all  over  Christendom,  and  the 
ominous  signs  of  the  times,  call  upon  us 
to  look  into  the  heavenly  records  con- 
cerning "  the  things  which  shall  be  here- 
after." Reason  herself  teaches,  that  God 
would  not  leave  his  church  entirely  igno- 
rant of  those  coming  events  which  "  cast 
their  shadows  before,"  and  which  are  of 
most  thrilling  interest  to  her,  and  to  the 
whole  world.  Let  us,  therefore,  gird  up 
the  loins  of  our  minds,  and  lay  our  heads 
and  our  hearts  to  the  work  of  searching 
the  Scriptures,  if  perhaps  we  may  ac- 
quire some  knowledge  of  our  present 
attitude,  in  regard  to  approaching  revo- 
lutions, and  the  glory  that  shall  follow. 
Away  with  the  vain  dream  that  the  mil- 


lennium is  begun.  Ah  no !  this  season 
of  error  and  delusion — this  age  of  re- 
buke and  blasphemy — this  generation  of 
scoffers,  atheists,  pantheists,  and  sab- 
bath-breakers— this  period  of  tyranny, 
despotism  and  oppression — these  cam- 
paigns of  slanders  and  falsehoods — this 
world  of  contentions,  wrath,  anger,  ma- 
lice, and  evil-speaking, — ah,  no  !  thou 
bleeding  Lamb  of  God  !  thou  Prince  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth  !  thou  God  and 
Governor  among  the  nations !  this  is 
not  thy  glorious  reign  !  No,  brethren  ; 
through  yonder  sea  of  blood,  the  church 
must  first  pass.  A  severe  and  terrible, 
though  short  battle,  she  must  fight,  ere 
the  Cross  be  finally  triumphant,  and  the 
broad  white  banner  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  shed  its  glory  round  the  globe. 

The  way  in  which  we  know  these 
things  is  extremely  simple  and  easily 
pointed  out.  We  have  in  the  Bible  an 
extended  system  of  prophecy,  containing 
a  history,  written  by  the  infallible  Au- 
thor of  revelation,  of  the  four  great  des- 
potic monarchies — the  Babylonish,  or 
Assyrio-Chaldaic,  the  Medo-Persian,  the 
Grseco-Macedonian,  and  the  Roman. 
Parallel  with  this,  and  connected  occa- 
sionally, there  is  another  history — that 
of  the  Church  of  God.  These  prophetic 
histories  are  complete  and  consistent  in 
themselves ;  and  their  relations  to  each 
other  are  very  important  for  us  to  know. 
But  there  is  another  history,  written  by 
fallible  pens,  and  therefore  very  defective, 
which  forms  the  counterpart  to  the  pro- 
phetic narration  :  the  records  of  facts 
for  which  we  are  indebted  to  different 
writers  in  various  ages.  Now  it  is  the 
defects  of  the  latter,  that  create  the  chief 
difficulty  to  the  interpreter  of  prophecy. 
In  many  cases  we  are  unable  to  point 
out  the  historic  facts  which  tally  with  the 
prophetic  statements  :  not,  as  we  have  a 
right  to  presume,  because  the  facts  did 
not  occur,  but  because  no  historian  has 
recorded  them,  or  the  record  is  lost.  This 
we  have  a  right  to  presume,  for,  we  do 
find  many  of  the  leading  events  of  his- 
tory to  coincide  with  prophecy  in  a  most 
striking  and  remarkable  manner.  Two 
witnesses  bear  testimony  on  one  and  the 
same  subject.     One  gives  a  clear  and 


LECTURE  I. 


17 


connected  narrative  of  what  he  saw  and 
heard  ;  the  other  only  touches  upon  parts 
of  what  his  predecessor  relates  ;  yet  so 
far  as  he  goes,  is  consistent  with  him, 
and  in  some  points  exhibits  facts  that  lie 
out  of  the  line  drawn  by  the  former. 
Now,  there  is  neither  inconsistency  or 
contradiction  here.  Both  are  entitled  to 
credit  as  men  of  truth.  History  may  be 
credible,  although  she  do  not  record  all 
that  prophecy  has  recorded  ;  but  it  is  ob- 
vious that  her  omissions  will  create  diffi- 
culty to  him  who  attempts  to  draw  the 
parallel  between  them. 

Notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  if 
we  succeed  in  running  out  the  parallel 
and  fixing,  beyond  controversy,  the  great 
leading  points  of  agreement  between  pro- 
phecy and  history,  it  is  obvious  that  we 
must  settle  dates  and  infallibly  establish 
chronology  in  prophecy,  by  means  of 
the  known  dates  of  the  facts  to  which 
they  refer,  even  where  the  prophet  af- 
fixed no  date.  And  if  we  thus  run  down 
the  prophetic  chain,  link  after  link,  we 
cannot  but  ascertain  the  links  which 
reach  our  own  times,  and,  of  course, 
those  which  refer  to  the  future.  Having 
thus  established  our  own  prophetic  chro- 
nology, we  know  what  prophecies  are 
yet  future,  as  to  their  accomplishment; 
and  if  any  of  them  belong  to  a  class, 
part  of  which  is  accomplished,  we  shut 
up  ourselves  to  some  knowledge  of  things 
that  shall  be  :  and  it  is  not  presumption 
but  duty  to  look  forward  to  them. 

Proceeding  in  this  reasonable  course, 
we  shall  see  cause  to  believe  that  the 
time  is  at  hand  for  the  most  magnificent 
transactions  to  which  prophecy  refers. 
The  period  is  near  its  close,  during  which 
the  church  of  God  shall  be  in  a  depressed 
and  mourning  state — during  which  Anti- 
Christ,  or  the  ':  man  of  sin  and  son  of 
perdition/'  shall  tyrannize  over  the  souls 
and  bodies  of  men;  at  the  termination  of 
which,  the  church  of  God  will  be  perse- 
cuted with  such  success  in  the  bounds  of 
the  Western  Roman  Empire,  as  to  re- 
sult in  the  entire  suppression  of  her  pub- 
lic, visible  testimony  for  the  truth.  After 
which  last  and  most  fearful  persecution, 
she  will  arise  in  new  beauty  and  glory, 
her  persecuting  foes  will  be  hurled  to  de- 

3 


struction,  and  the  reign  of  righteousness 
and  peace  will  speed  rapidly  over  the 
earth,  until  the  whole  world  be  brought 
under  the  peaceful  dominion  of  Messiah  : 
when  governments  of  law,  founded  on 
the  equal  rights  of  man,  will  pervade 
Europe,  and  the  world  ;  and  all  the  earth 
will  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  God. 
The  first  acts  of  this  great  drama,  if  we 
are  not  greatly  mistaken,  will  be  wit- 
nessed by  many  of  you.  If,  therefore, 
my  young  friends,  you  may  be  called 
upon  by  the  King  in  Zion,  the  throne  of 
whose  moral  dominion  over  the  hearts  of 
men,  must,  and  will  be  established  above 
the  ruins  of  all  other  thrones,  to  bran- 
dish a  blade,  carnal  or  spiritual,  in  the 
wars  of  the  Lord, — if  there  is  but  a  faint 
probability  of  this,  shall  we  not  have 
your  ear  to  these  discussions,  which  are 
intended  to  throw  the  light  of  revelation 
upon  the  darkness  of  approaching  con- 
flicts? Will  you  not  search  the  Scrip- 
tures to  see  whether  these  things  be  so? 
"Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  for  the  time 
is  at  hand." 

In  summing  up  the  practical  matter 
of  this  discourse,  we  remark, 

1.  Let  us  not  despise  prophesy ings. 
Let  us  not,  under  show  of  extreme  reve- 
rence for  Scripture,  "  hide  it  under  a 
bushel."  But,  as  the  faithful  and  true 
philosopher  puts  nature  to  the  torture,  to 
force  her  to  confess  her  secrets,  so  will 
we  place  the  prophetic  language  in  the 
crucible  of  sound  criticism,  that  we  may 
discover  the  truths  it  contains. 

Let  us,  like  the  student  of  nature,  use 
our  longest  line  to  fathom  the  depths  of 
her  mysteries,  and  if  we  fail,  humbly 
confess  our  failure  ;  but  at  the  same  time, 
use  all  possible  means  to  lengthen  the 
line,  that  at  a  future  day  we  may  be  able 
to  accomplish  what  is  now  beyond  our 
reach.  Caution  and  humility  are  al- 
ways handmaidens  of  sound  philosophy; 
whether  her  field  of  inquiry  be  the  book 
of  nature,  or  that  of  revelation — whether 
history,  doctrinal  truth,  or  prophecy. 

2.  The  Scripture  prophecies,  to  which 
our  attention  will  be  directed,  are  an  ex- 
tended system;  therefore,  much  atten- 
tion, long-continued  and  persevering 
study,  will  be  indispensable  to  their  right 


18 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


understanding  and  our  profit.  The  in- 
dolent, of  course,  will  remain  ignorant, 
and  to  them,  these  lectures  will  be  of  no 
peculiar  interest :  for  where  the  under- 
standing is  not  enlisted  in  the  discussion, 
the  heart  will  not  long  feel  any  concern. 
"  None  of  the  wicked,"  says  Daniel 
(xii.  10),  "shall  understand:  but  the 
wise  shall  understand." 

3.  No  man  can  be  prepared  for  his 
duty,  who  is  ignorant  of  his  moral  re- 
lations. If  we  will  know  what  God  will 
have  us  to  do,  we  must  look  at  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  he  has  placed  us  : 
and  that,  both  as  connected  with  the  past 
and  the  future.  "  If  the  trumpet  give  an 
uncertain  sound,  who  shall  prepare  him- 
self for  the  battle?"  If  we  remain  in 
doubt  as  to  the  field  of  conflict,  the  na- 
ture and  numbers  of  the  foe,  it  is  im- 
possible we  should  perform  the  duties  of 
soldiers  in  the  battle,  or  share  the  glory 
of  victors  in  the  hour  of  triumph. 

4.  We  must,  in  these,  and  all  other  en- 
deavours to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the 
Scriptures,  look  to  their  Author,  for  his 
divine  teachings,  that  our  minds  may  be 
guided  into  all  truth.  None  but  this  in- 
structor can  present  a  plain  path  before 
us  :  and  we  have  his  promise  for  needed 
aid.  Thus  proceeding,  we  shall  have  a 
good  foundation  for  the  time  to  come, 
and  shall  stand  in  our  lot  at  the  end  of 
the  davs. 


LECTURE  II. 

>ebuchad>ezzae's  dream. 

Daniel  ii.  31-45. 

The  fate  of  empire  often  hangs  upon 
a  hair.  Incidents,  apparently  the  most 
trivial,  give  occasion  to  results  the  most 
magnificent.  A  mere  transient  ebulli- 
tion of  feeling,  in  the  individual  bosom, 
overturns  a  kingdom,  or  dethrones  a  dy- 
nasty. Oliver  Cromwell  and  John  Hamp- 
den had  taken  their  passage  for  Ame- 
rica and  were  on  the  eve  of  departure, 
when  a  fit  of  spleen,  jealousy,  or  some 
other  evil  feeling,  stimulated  Charles  to 


arrest  them;  hence  the  downfall  of  the 
house  of  Stuart,  and  the  upbuilding  of 
the  cause  of  human  freedom.  But  for 
this  ebullition  of  passion,  in  forty  days 
the  wide  Atlantic  would  have  rolled  be- 
tween the  throne  of  tyranny  in  the  Bri- 
tish isles,  and  the  two  master  spirits  of 
republican  liberty  and  the  Protestant  suc- 
cession. The  effects  of  their  expatria- 
tion who  can  divine?  With  the  most 
consummate  general  of  that  or  any  other 
age,  as  he  proved  to  be,  and  the  most 
heroic,  pure,  and  skilful  statesman,  must 
not  the  vast  wilds  of  the  new  world  have 
become  much  more  speedily  the  home  of 
freedom,  and  the  tide  of  her  population 
have  rolled  with  much  greater  rapidity 
upon  the  desert  haunts  of  the  wild  In- 
dian ?  Would  not  these  heroic  leaders 
have  been  followed  by  immense  multi- 
tudes of  the  oppressed  Protestants,  the 
ardent  friends  of  human  rights ;  and 
must  not  the  swollen  billows,  long  ere 
this,  have  laved  the  distant  sides  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains?  But  then,  whilst 
the  cause  would  have  gained  on  the  one 
hand,  it  would  have  lost  on  the  other. 
What  would  have  become  of  Protestant 
freedom  in  Britain,  in  Europe?  Would 
not  the  Star  Chamber  and  the  Inquisition 
have  coalesced,  and  Laud  been  another 
name  for  the  Pope?  Would  liberty  at 
this  hour  have  had  a  foothold  in  Europe? 
What  mighty  results  from  apparently 
trivial  incidents? 

An  unholy  emotion, — an  ambitious 
feeling  springs  up  in  the  bosom  of  one 
of  the  very  best  kings  that  ever  sat  on 
the  throne  of  David,  and  he  must  needs 
go  out  against  Pharaoh-Necho,  king  of 
Egypt,  to  battle.  You  see  the  history  in 
2  Chron.  xxxv.  20,  2  Kings  xxiii.  29. 
The  king  of  Egypt,  whose  object  was 
to  attack  Carchemish  by  Euphrates,  a 
town  then  tributary  to  the  king  of  Baby- 
Ion,  entreated  Josiah  to  forbear,  "  What 
have  I  to  do  with  thee,  thou  king  of  Ju- 
dah  ?"  "  Nevertheless  Josiah  would  not 
turn  his  face  from  him,  but  disguised 
himself  that  he  might  fight  with  him, 
and  hearkened  not  to  the  words  of  Ne- 
cho  from  the  mouth  of  God,  and  came  to 
fight  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo."  And 
there,  in  this  vast  "  battle-ground  of  na- 


LECTURE  II. 


19 


tions,"  the  good  king  fell,  and  was  car- 
ried to  Jerusalem,  amid  the  nation's 
lamentation  and  wo.  But  mark  what 
hangs  upon  this  thread.  Jehoahaz,  the 
son  of  Josiah,  was  proclaimed  king.  But 
"  the  king  of  Egypt  put  him  down  at 
Jerusalem,  and  made  his  brother  Eliakim 
king  over  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and 
changed  his  name  to  Jehoiakim ;"  he  con- 
demned the  land  and  their  king  to  pay  a 
tribute  of  an  hundred  talents  of  silver 
and  a  talent  of  gold.  After  eleven  years, 
the  king  of  Babylon  came  against  him  : 
for  Nebuchadnezzar  had  turned  the  tide 
of  blood  against  the  Egyptian  monarch, 
retook  Carchemish,  brought  Jerusalem 
into  tributary  subjection,  and  carried 
away  some  of  the  vessels  of  the  temple 
and  many  of  the  people.  Thus,  one 
rash  act  of  a  good  man,  embroiled  his 
kingdom  in  the  wars  of  two  mighty  na- 
tions, between  which  his  little  territory 
lay,  and  brought  after  it  distresses  innu- 
merable to  his  unhappy  descendants. 
Had  Josiah  taken  the  advice  of  Necho, 
humanly  speaking,  he  might  have  main- 
tained an  honourable  and  independent 
neutrality :  but  it  was  God's  purpose  to 
chastise  his  rebellious  church  for  the 
horrible  corruptions  of  religion.  For 
Manasseh,  the  grandfather  of  Josiah, 
"  made  Judah  and  the  inhabitants  of  Je- 
rusalem to  err,  and  to  do  worse  than  the 
heathen,"  (See  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  1-10.) 
These  idolatrous  practices  God  would 
punish.  Therefore  Josiah  was  left  to  the 
freedom  of  his  own  will,  unrestrained 
and  undirected  by  over-ruling  grace,  in 
this  particular;  and  this  trivial  outbreak 
of  pride  or  ambition,  was  the  occasion 
of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in  which  the 
prophet  Daniel  and  his  three  companions 
were  involved. 

The  date  of  this  captivity  it  is  proper 
we  should  settle.  Daniel  tells  us  that  it 
was  "  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,"  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar took  Jerusalem.  This,  it 
must  be  remembered,  was  the  first  "  car- 
rying away;"  and  is  not  the  period  al- 
luded to  in  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  5,  6,  when 
Nebuchadnezzar  bound  Jehoiakim  in  fet- 
ters to  carry  him  to  Babylon.  This  was 
when  "he  had  reigned  eleven  years  in 


Jerusalem."  Also  from  2  Kings  xxiv.  1, 
we  learn,  that  Jehoiakim  had  been  tribu- 
tary to  Nebuchadnezzar  three  years  ; 
after  which  he  rebelled;  which  three 
years  must  count  from  the  first  captivity, 
when  Daniel  was  carried  away.  This 
would  bring  us  to  the  beginning  of  his 
seventh  year.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
eleventh  that  he  was  put  in  fetters. 
These  five  years  were,  however,  em- 
ployed in  various  partisan  wars  and  con- 
flicts between  the  king  of  Judah  and 
"  bands  of  the  Chaldeans  and  bands  of 
the  Moabites  and  bands  of  the  children 
of  Ammon,"  all,  either  the  soldiers  or 
allies  of  the  Babylonish  monarch. 

Moreover,  we  are  told  by  Jeremiah 
(xlvi.  2,)  that  Pharaoh-Necho  was  de- 
feated by  Nebuchadnezzar.  "  in  the 
fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim."  But  Daniel 
tells  us  that  the  first  detachment  of  the 
captivity  was  in  the  third  year.  These 
compared  give  us  to  understand  that 
the  Babylonish  generalissimo,  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, (for  he  was  not  king,  pro- 
perly so  called  ;  he  was  only  prince  re- 
gent and  commander-in-chief  at  this  time 
— his  father,  Nebopollasser,  being  old 
and  infirm,)  attacked  the  Egyptian  for- 
tress at  Carchemish,  carried  it  by  storm, 
marched  westward,  took  Jerusalem  and 
sent  back  the  first  caravan  of  captives, 
including  Daniel,  in  the  third  year  of 
Jehoiakim.  He  pursued  his  advantages 
against  Necho,  poured  his  victorious  le- 
gions into  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and 
made  the  king  tremble  for  the  fate  of  his 
hundred-gated  city.  But  ere  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt  was  completed,  the  vic- 
tor received  intelligence  that  his  father 
had  fallen  beneath  the  sword  of  all-vic- 
torious death.  Whereupon  he  returned, 
laden  with  immense  spoils,  took  posses- 
sion of  his  throne,  and  beautified  and 
embellished  Babylon  with  the  treasures 
of  Egypt.  This  return  was  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Jehoiakim  ;  and,  whilst  the  king 
of  Babylon  was  thus  employed,  the  king 
of  Jerusalem,  after  two  years,  refused  to 
pay  the  tribute.  He  rebelled,  and  four 
or  five  years  were  spent  in  various  expe- 
ditions against  him  ;  until,  in  his  eleventh 
year,  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  settled 
the  general    policy   and    government  at 


20 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


home,  proceeded  on  a  second  great  west- 
ern excursion ;  at  which  time  he  bound 
Jehoiakim  with  fetters,  intending  to  send 
him  to  Babylon.  This  intention,  how- 
ever,  was  probably  prevented  by  his 
death.  For  says  Jeremiah,  (xxii.  18, 19, 
and  xxxvi.  30),  "  He  shall  be  buried  with 
the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn  and  cast 
forth  beyond  the  gates  of  Jerusalem." 

To  him  succeeded  his  son  Jehoiakim, 
who  reigned  but  three  months,  when  the 
king  of  Babylon  placed  Mattaniah,  his 
uncle,  the  brother  of  Jehoiakim,  on  the 
throne,  under  the  name  of  Zedekiah,  and 
took  Jehoiakim  to  Babylon,  where  he 
was  a  prisoner  for  thirty  years.  He  was 
released  in  the  first  year  of  Evil  Mero- 
dach,  the  son  and  successor  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. (2  Kings  xxv.  27.  See  also 
the  Universal  History,  vol.  iii.  p.  416  ; 
Rollin,  vol.  i.  287.) 

Again,  we  learn  from  Jeremiah,  (xxv. 
1,)  that  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  is 
the  first  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  which, 
compared  with  Daniel's  statement,  (i.  1,) 
that  the  first  captivity  was  in  the  third 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  proves  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, was  not  properly  king  at 
the  time  of  his  first  western  expedition, 
as  already  observed.  But  the  dethrone- 
ment and  death  of  Jehoiakim  was  in  the 
seventh  year  of  the  king  of  Babylon, 
(Jeremiah  lii.  28,)  and,  of  cpurse,  in  the 
tenth  or  eleventh  of  the  king  of  Judah  ; 
and  according  to  Archbishop  Usher's 
chronology,  in  the  year  before  Christ 
597.  The  dream  of  the  image  was  five 
years  before  this — in  the  second  year  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  (Daniel  ii.  1.)  Rollin, 
by  some  mistake,  says  that  it  was  in  the 
fourth  year,  so  that  the  true  date  of  the 
dream  will  be  602  before  Christ;  con- 
sequently, in  the  year  of  the  world, 
3402 ;  1746  years  after  the  flood,  and 
152  years  after  the  founding  of  the  Ro- 
man state,  which  occurred,  Ante  Chris- 
tum 753. 

Thus,  in  the  very  commencement  of 
a  reign,  which  continued  forty-three 
years  with  unusual  prosperity — the  reign 
of  a  prince  whose  military  prowess, 
whilst  yet  a  youth,  had  carried  the  ter- 
ror of  his  name  to  the  very  gates  of 
Thebes,  whence  he  had  returned,  laden 


with  spoils,  to  a  throne  already  dazzling 
in  the  splendour  of  wealth — was  ex- 
hibited a  dream  and  a  vision  which  con- 
tains the  history  of  empires  for  thousands 
of  years  to  come.  ■ 

The  age  of  Daniel  at  this  juncture,  we 
cannot  precisely  determine.  The  king 
had  given  instructions  to  an  officer,  to 
select  a  few  promising  youths — they  are 
called  children, — and  put  them  under  a 
system  of  careful  discipline,  that  they 
might  be  fitted  to  act  as  interpreters,  or 
to  be  useful  to  the  king's  service  in  any 
way.  He  made  liberal  provision  of  food 
and  wine  for  them.  But  from  prudential 
and  conscientious  motives,  "  Daniel  pur- 
posed in  his  heart,  that  he  would  not 
defile  himself  with  the  portion  of  the 
king's  meat,  nor  with  the  wine  which  he 
drank."  "  Let  them  give  us,"  said  he, 
"  pulse  to  eat,  and  water  to  drink."  "  So 
he  consented  to  them  in  this  matter," 
and  they  were  to  remain  three  years  un- 
der discipline,  agreeably  to  this  system  ; 
at  the  end  of  which  time  they  were  to 
be  presented  before  the  king.  But  he 
had  need  of  them  sooner  ;  for  the  verses, 
(17-20  of  chapter  i.,)  which  speak  of 
their  presentation,  is  a  prolepsis  in  the 
history — an  anticipation  of  a  fact  prior 
to  the  exact  order  of  time,  as  is  common 
with  all  historians.  This  will  appear,  if 
it  is  recollected  that  Daniel  was  brought 
to  Babylon  in  the  third  year  of  Jehoia- 
kim, and  that  the  fourth  of  Jehoiakim 
was  the  first  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Of- 
course,  the  sixth  of  the  former,  which 
would  correspond  with  the  third  of  Da- 
niel's probation  and  instruction,  must  be 
the  third  of  the  latter.  Consequently, 
the  dream  of  the  king  occurred  in  the 
second  year  of  Daniel's  course,  and  he 
was  interrupted  in  it  by  the  providential 
call  to  interpret  the  dream.  He  had  not 
completed  his  system  of  discipline,  when 
the  edict  of  the  king  went  forth  to  de- 
stroy all  the  wise  men  for  their  ignorance 
and  their  pretensions  to  learning  which 
they  did  not  possess.  "  Then  Daniel 
answered  with  counsel  and  wisdom  to 
Arioch,  the  captain  of  the  king's  guard, 
who  was  gone  forth  to  slay  the  wise  men 
of  Babylon."  His  and  his  friends'  inter- 
position, saved  them  from  destruction  ; 


LECTURE  II. 


21 


— not  the  last  and  only  case,  where  a 
few  self-denying,  noble-hearted  youth 
have  rescued  their  companions  from 
utter  ruin,  and  led  away  the  public  in- 
tellect, from  the  vain-glorious  boastings 
of  empty  heads,  to  the  sober,  plodding 
investigations  that  result  in  substantial 
truth  and  sound  literature. 

Such  is  our  first  introduction  to  the 
Hebrew  lad,  whose  history  is  to  occupy 
our  attention  for  some  time.  A  captive 
in  a  strange  land,  he  is  called  to  instruct 
his  captors.  Verily  these  young  He- 
brews afford  us  many  lessons  of  practi- 
cal wisdom.  Look  at  the  slave  of  Poti- 
phar,  who  was  taken  from  prison,  eleven 
hundred  and  three  years  before  Daniel's 
time,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  a  mighty 
nation.  See  with  what  calm  dignity  he 
drops  the  fetters  of  slavery,  wreathes 
around  his  neck  the  chain  of  gold, 
studded  with  precious  jewels,  and  takes 
up  the  great  seal  and  signet, — insignia 
of  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
mightiest  monarch  on  the  globe.  Nor 
does  his  head  become  giddy  at  the  height 
of  his  elevation.  He  looks  not  down 
with  scorn  on  all,  that  before  stood  over 
him.  The  slave,  now  master  of  an  em- 
pire, is  not  a  tyrant.  Can  any  but  the 
Christian  philosopher  account  for  the 
prudence,  wisdom,  and  moderation,  dis- 
played in  the  administration  of  the  shep- 
herd boy? 

Look,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than 
eleven  hundred  years,  at  the  fortunes  of 
another  Hebrew  stripling,  in  the  other 
great  cradle  of  the  arts  and  sciences, 
and  seat  of  empire.  Mark  his  demeanour 
in  the  august  presence  of  the  first  sove- 
reign in  the  world.  Flow  modest, — 
how  humble, — how  self-possessed  !  Mark 
him  well,  for  we  shall  hereafter  be  called 
upon  to  witness  the  dignity  of  this  youth 
after  sixty-seven  additional  winters  will 
have  shed  their  frosts  upon  his  head, 
and  together  with  superior  wisdom  and 
sanctity,  have  made  him  an  object  of 
sublime  grandeur.  We  shall  see  him 
stand  forth,  erect  and  firm,  in  the  night 
of  Belshazzar's  terror,  the  ruins  of  an 
empire,  and  crash  of  a  dynasty,  scatter- 
ing their  fragments,  in  all  directions 
around  him.     But  there  he  stands,  the 


Mentor  of  another  monarch,  the  coun- 
sellor of  a  new  dynasty,  the  premier  of 
a  new  empire.  Wonderful  man!  Could 
any  thing  but  the  spirit  of  the  Holy  One, 
have  given  such  wisdom,  prudence  and 
firmness  to  a  mortal  1 

"  A  dream  cometh  through  the  mul- 
titude of  business  ;"  and  we  should  sup- 
pose that  for  all  such  dreams,  men  are 
accountable.  It  is  admitted,  that  for  all 
our  waking  thoughts  we  are  responsible  ; 
and  if  our  thoughts  in  partial  sleep,  re- 
sult from  those  of  our  waking  hours, 
they  must  have  a  moral  character.  The 
dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar  was  of  this 
description.  Its  matter  lay  in  the  direc- 
tion of  his  thoughts,  and  daily  avoca- 
tions. How  dreams  are  brought  about, 
we  are  almost  entirely  ignorant.  In- 
deed the  laws  of  mental  activity  are  but 
very  imperfectly  understood.  How  mat- 
ter affects  mind,  and  mind  acts  upon 
matter,  even  in  ourselves,  and  in  our 
waking  moments,  we  know  not;  how 
much  greater,  then,  our  ignorance  in 
that  strange  and  mysterious  state  of 
existence  called  sleep.  The  soul  and 
body  in  perfectly  sound  sleep,  seem 
divorced  from  each  other :  so  that  the 
former  acts  independently  of  the  latter. 
We  have  no  consciousness  of  mental 
activity  during  this  period.  Perhaps  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  we 
have  no  remembrance  of  such  conscious- 
ness afterwards  ;  and  therefore,  we  have 
hardly  just  data  to  infer  the  reality  of 
such  action.  We  have  partial  memory 
of  mental  activity  in  that  disturbed  and 
imperfect  region  where  dreams  are 
formed.  But  memory  is  dependent  on 
consciousness.  A  man  cannot  remem- 
ber what  he  never  knew,  or  was  never 
conscious  of  experiencing ;  and  yet  not 
every  thing  of  which  we  were  conscious, 
can  we  remember.  Still,  we  can  recol- 
lect portions  of  a  series  of  mental  actions, 
— a  framework  of  the  mind,  whilst  we 
feel  confident  that  parts  of  the  baseless  , 
fabric  are  lost.  Our  spirits,  in  a  season 
of  divorcement  from  the  toils  and  tram- 
mels of  flesh,  may  be  holding  converse 
with  other  spirits, — the  souls  of  de- 
parted friends;  of  angels,  good  or  bad,  or 
of  God  their  Maker.  Our  dreams  are  but 


22 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  dying  whispers  of  these  interviews 
confusedly  echoing  through  the  inlets 
of  clay.  But  He  who  formed  this  earthly 
habitation  for  the  immortal  mind,  and 
who  has  been  pleased  to  limit,  for  a 
time,  our  distinct  consciousness  of  men- 
tal activities,  to  the  season  of  conjunct 
action  with  the  body,  may  and  undoubt- 
edly often  has,  turned  aside  from  his 
ordinary  course,  and  granted  to  men  in- 
tellectual actions,  and  the  consciousness 
of  their  reality,  without  the  intervention 
of  the  bodily  powers  ;  or  rather  inde- 
pendently of  their  use.  Perhaps,  in- 
deed, the  only  thing  extraordinary  in 
such  cases,  is  the  temporary  independ- 
ence of  the  mind  upon  the  body,  for  its 
consciousness.  This  is  what  we  call 
vision  or  seeing.  God  gives  to  man's 
soul,  to  man  himself  apart  from  the 
clogs  of  clay,  a  sight  or  vision  of  im- 
portant truth,  or  of  objects  that  teach 
important  truth.  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
a  dream,  obscure,  faint  and  fading  from 
the  tablets  of  memory :  but  to  Daniel 
was  the  secret  recalled  in  a  ni«;ht  vision, 
— clear,  plain,  and  indelible.  Hence,  in- 
troduced, as  we  have  said,  into  the  royal 
presence,  attended  probably  by  his  three 
friends,  before  a  large  collection  of  splen- 
did courtiers,  and  we  may  well  suppose, 
of  the  chief  astrologers  of  this  renowned 
school,  Daniel  proceeds  to  tell  the  dream, 
and  to  make  known  the  interpretation. 

"  Thou,  O  King,  sawest,  and  behold 
a  great  image.  This  great  image, 
whose  brightness  was  excellent,  stood 
before  thee ;  and  the  form  thereof  was 
terrible.  This  image's  head  was  of  fine 
gold,  his  breast  and  his  arms  of  silver, 
his  belly  and  his  thighs  of  brass,  his 
legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and 
part  of  clay.  Thou  sawest  till  that  a 
stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which 
smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were 
of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  to 
pieces.  Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay, 
the  brass,  the  silver  and  the  gold  broken 
to  pieces  together,  and  became  like  the 
chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors  ; 
and  the  wind  carried  them  away  and  no 
place  was  found  for  them  :  and  the  stone 
that  smote  the  image  became  a  great 
mountain  and  filled  the  whole  earth." 


This  language  presents  to  our  con- 
templation two  and  only  two  distinct 
objects, — the  giant  image  and  the  little 
stone.  If  no  explanation  were  given  by 
the  prophet,  yet  would  we  be  led  imme- 
diately to  suppose,  that  these  are  both 
symbols  ;  that  is,  figurative  representa- 
tions of  some  objects  or  matters,  of  deep 
and  thrilling  interest.  But  with  the  ex- 
position of  the  Hebrew  seer  before  us, 
we  have  no  room  to  doubt ;  hesitancy 
finds  not  a  foot-breadth  on  which  to 
stand.  Here  is  a  gorgeous  and  imposing 
symbol  of  the  four  great  universal  mo- 
narchies, on  the  one  hand  ;  and  of  the 
one  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  on  the  other. 

Before  we  proceed  with  Daniel  to  dis- 
sect this  giant,  a  few  remarks  in  refer- 
ence to  the  symbols  will  be  profitable. 

1.  The  fact  must  be  particularly 
noted,  that  the  symbol  in  each  case  is 
a  unit)'-.  The  great  image  or  figure  is 
one,  notwithstanding  that  it  consists  of 
several  parts.  It  presents  unity  of  idea. 
Whatever  may  be  the  local  and  peculiar 
interests,  yet  there  is  one  common  in- 
terest :  something  proper  to  no  one  of 
the  sections  into  which  it  is  divided  ;  but 
which  runs  through  the  whole,  and  con- 
stitutes the  principle  of  its  unity.  The 
figure  does  indeed  represent,  in  and  by 
its  several  sections,  the  four  great  mo- 
narchies ;  but  besides  exhibiting  them 
as  distinct  empires,  it  exhibits  them  as 
blended  into,  and  constituting  one  vast 
complex  power.  The  blood-vessels  and 
their  contents  and  the  nerves  of  the 
human  body  cannot  be  divided  into  four 
independent  portions.  Each  of  these 
systems  pervades  the  whole  body,  so 
that  the  symbol  is  naturally  fitted  to 
represent  the  unity  of  life,  power  and 
energ)' ;  whilst  the  division  of  it  into 
sections,  naturally  incapable  of  separate 
existence,  is  well  adapted  to  exhibit  a 
local  change,  as  to  the  exertion  of  the 
one  spirit  and  power  of  the  body. 

The  other  symbol,  the  little  stone,  is 
homogeneous,  and  is  not  calculated  to 
produce  any  idea  of  complexity.  It  is 
not  separated  into  parts  ;  it  consists  not 
of  a  variety  of  members  united  by  some 
one  common  principle;  but  it  is  simple 


LECTURE  II. 


23 


in  itself;  one  and  indivisible.  It  is, 
therefore,  suited  to  represent  that  one 
system  of  moral  rule  set  up  in  the 
church  of  God,  or  rather  the  church 
itself:  that  one  great  society,  as  it 
proves  to  be  in  the  issue,  which  God 
has  organized  in  the  world,  and 
which  He  will  make  ultimately  uni- 
versal. 

2.  The  things  symbolized  respectively 
by  the  image  and  the  stone  are  antago- 
nist ;  their  interests  are  at  variance ; 
their  opposition  perpetual ;  and  the  con- 
sequence of  it,  destruction  to  one.  This 
is  prominently  set  forth  in  verse  35, 
where  the  result  is  described.  By  the 
action  of  the  little  stone,  the  image, — 
not  the  head,  the  feet,  the  thighs,  the 
breast;  but  the  whole  image  and  all  its 
parts  and  portions,  become  as  the  chaff 
of  the  summer  threshing-floor,  and  are 
so  entirely  dissipated,  that  no  place  is 
found  for  them.  This  fact  is  utterly  de- 
structive of  the  interpretations  of  many, 
whose  scheme  makes  it  necessary  to 
begin  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  with  the 
Christian  era,  or  at  the  time  of  His 
second  personal  advent. 

Now,  the  question  is,  what  powers 
are  intended  1  What  are  the  two  great 
and  all  absorbing  interests,  here  symbo- 
lized, so  completely  antagonistical,  so 
perpetually  and  irreconcilably  hostile  to 
each  other,  that  extermination, — utter 
annihilation,  must  and  will  be  the  result 
of  this  hostility  ? 

3.  The  answer  is  our  principal  re- 
mark here.  The  little  stone  is  the 
symbol  of  government  by  law  ;  the  great 
image  is  the  symbol  of  government  by 
force  ; — the  one  represents  the  dominion 
of  truth  over  man  by  the  power  of  an 
enlightened  conscience  ;  the  other,  the 
domination  of  error  and  delusion  through 
cringing  fear  and  gross  ignorance  :  the 
former  is  the  spirit  of  true  freedom, 
which,  by  instructing  the  mind  in  the 
knowledge  of  moral  truth,  breaks  off 
every  yoke  and  makes  the  man  free  in- 
deed ;  the  latter  is  the  spirit  of  arbitrary 
power,  which  keeps  man  ignorant  of 
his  relations,  duties  and  privileges,  and 
rivets  the  fetters  of  bondage  upon  the 
race.     This  is  the  dragon  of  despotism, 


— that  the  man-child  of  moral  govern- 
ment.   (Rev.  xii.) 

4.  Hence  our  anxiety  to  press  upon 
your  notice,  for  perpetual  remembrance, 
the  true  nature  and  use  of  this  vision. 
It  is  a  compendium  of  all  history,  at 
least  of  all  that  history  which  nearly 
interests  us.  It  runs  down  from  the 
days  of  Nimrod,  more  than  twenty- 
two  centuries  before  the  Christian  era, 
to  the  Millennium,  and,  as  to  the  king- 
dom of  the  great  mountain,  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  Stretch  this  terrible  form 
upon  the  map  of  the  Eastern  continent, 
and  see  what  of  history  the  huge  mass 
will  leave  uncovered.  His  head  of  gold 
rests  in  the  vast  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 
His  dishevelled  hair  straggles  across  the 
Indus  and  intrudes  upon  Tartary.  His 
broad  left  shoulder  hides  Arabia,  his 
arm  reaches  over  Egypt,  and  his  hand 
extends  along  Northern  Africa  to  Mount 
Atlas.  His  body  lies  to  the  North  and 
West,  his  left  foot  terminating  upon  the 
great  European  peninsula,  and  his  right 
on  the  British  Isles  :  his  right  arm 
reaches  over  the  Caspian  and  Black 
Seas,  and  his  hand  rests  on  the  valley 
of  the  Danube.  What  of  ancient  history 
have  we  then  left  ?  Nothing,  but  the 
Chinese  romance,  and  the  unwritten 
story  of  Siberian  frosts  and  Russian 
snows.  The  history  of  the  four  great 
monarchies  and  of  the  church  of  God, 
is  the  history  of  the  world  :  and  he,  who 
in  a  long  life,  shall  have  filled  up  the 
historical  outline  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream  as  told  and  interpreted  by  Daniel, 
will  leave  behind  him  at  his  death,  the 
reputation  of  a  well-read  historian. 

5.  One  more  remark,  before  we  take 
up  the  dissecting  knife  and  attack  the 
monster.  In  dealing,  as  we  must  in 
these  lectures,  deal,  largely  in  profane 
history,  we  do  not  desecrate  this  sacred 
place.  The  Bible  contains  a  great 
amount  of  history,  that  in  this  sense  is 
profane  ;  that  is,  it  is  not  strictly  the 
record  of  the  sacred  society  which  God 
has  established.  We  admit  that  it  is 
not  the  design  of  the  Bible  to  detail 
histories  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world. 
Its  leading  object  is  to  give  us  an  ac- 
count, so  far  as  it  is  historical,  of  reli- 


24 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


gion,  of  true  piety,  and  of  course,  of  the 
church  where  this  is  to  be  found.  But 
incidental  to  this,  is  the  history  of  the 
creation,  of  the  flood,  of  the  spread  of 
Noah's  family  after  the  flood,  of  the 
establishment  of  empires,  and  other  in- 
numerable things.  Of  these  early  events 
we  have  no  other  sure  record.  Still  it 
is  true,  that  these  are  subsidiary  to  the 
leading  design.  It  is  not  for  their  own 
sakes  that  the  history  of  the  four  mo- 
narchies is  exhibited  in  this  programme, 
or  their  outline  filled  up,  less  or  more 
completely  in  subsequent  pages  ;  it  is 
for  Zion's  sake  ;  it  is  on  account  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  little  stone.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Babylonish  history  is  little 
more  than  absurd  fable,  until  the  period 
when  it  comes  into  collision  with  the 
church  of  God.  Goliath  we  had  never 
heard  of  but  for  David  :  this  great  image 
would  be  unknown  to  the  sacred  volume, 
and  less  known  otherwise  than  it  is,  but 
that  its  feet  struck  upon  the  little  stone, 
and  attempted  to  stamp  it  to  powder. 
So,  we  shall  bring  the  history  of  na- 
tions, thrones  and  dynasties  into  these 
lectures,  no  more  than  the  Bible  does,  and 
no  more  than  is  requisite,  in  order  to  ex- 
hibit the  glory  of  God,  who  is  the  Gover- 
nor among  the  nations  ;  and  the  wisdom, 
power  and  goodness  he  has  displayed  in 
the  protection  and  defence  of  his  church. 

Let  us  proceed  to  the  dissection  of 
the  image, — the  general  analysis  of  the 
vision.  "  This,"  continues  Daniel,  "  is 
the  dream  :  and  we  will  tell  the  inter- 
pretation thereof  before  the  king.  Thou, 
O  king,  art  a  king  of  kings  :  for  the 
God  of  heaven  hath  given  thee  a  king- 
dom, power,  and  strength,  and  glory. 
And  wheresoever  the  children  of  men 
dwell,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven,  hath  he  given  into 
thine  hand,  and  hath  made  thee  ruler 
over  them  all.  Thou  art  this  head  of 
gold."  (Verses  36,  37,  38.) 

1.  Here  we  remark,  that  not  the  in- 
dividual man,  but  the  mighty  king,  is 
addressed  :  nor  is  it  the  person  of  the 
king,  or  the  kingly  power  at  this  precise 
juncture  that  is  intended.  For  he  has 
divided  the  image  into  four  parts  ;  and 
in  the  very  next  verses,  he  speaks  of 


another,  and  of  a  third  and  fourth  king- 
doms ;  showing  plainly,  that  he  speaks 
of  the  first  kingdom,  when  he  says, 
"  Thou  art  this  head  of  gold."  The 
golden  head  is  a  symbol  of  the  Assyrio- 
Babylonish  empire  or  kingdom,  whose 
throne,  in  the  very  height  of  its  glory, 
Nebuchadnezzar  occupied  at  the  mo- 
ment, and  whose  sceptre,  in  its  most 
extensive  sway,  he  then  held. 

2.  Though  some  little  abatement  may 
be  necessary  for,  and  on  account  of 
Eastern  metaphor,  yet  there  is  nothing 
of  flattery  in  this  address.  Particularly, 
if  we  could  stretch  our  faith  so  as  to  ad- 
mit as  truth,  the  representations  of  the 
Greek  historians,  who  after  Ktesias, 
refer  the  excessive  splendours  of  Baby- 
lon to  the  distant  age  of  Ninus  and  his 
queen  Semiramis.  But  even  rejecting 
as  extravagant  fable  the  reports  of  Kte- 
sias, as  the  authors  of  the  Universal 
History,  Rollin  and  the  Abbe  Millot  do, 
and  supposing  that  many  of  the  splendid 
structures  of  Babylon  were  the  work  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  then  in  progress  ; 
still,  it  was  a  golden  city.  For  magni- 
ficence and  apparently  for  strength,  she 
stood  queen  of  the  world  :  her  young 
king  wore  upon  his  brow  laurels  of  vic- 
tory from  the  gates  of  Thebes  : — Egypt's 
proud  monarch  had  cowered  before  him. 

3.  It  is  according  to  God's  mode  of 
dealing  with  men,  to  adapt  the  symbols 
of  prophecy  to  the  persons  to  whom 
they  are  presented.  Daniel  had  the  same 
powers,  set  forth  under  far  different 
figures,  as  we  shall  see.  But  here  it  was 
to  a  most  splendid  monarch  that  the 
dream  was  given ;  and  of  course  a  gor- 
geous, golden-headed  image  would  be 
much  more  likely  to  impress  his  mind  and 
command  his  attention  than  if  he  had 
seen  himself  exhibited  as  a  beast  of  prey. 
Isaiah  (xiv.  4)  calls  Babylon,  "  the  gol- 
den city."  "  And  after  thee  shall  arise 
another  kingdom  inferior  to  thee,  and 
another  third  kingdom  of  brass,  which 
shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth.  And 
the  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong  as 
iron :  forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in 
pieces  and  subdueth  all  things:  and  as 
iron  that  breaketh  all  these,  shall  it  break 
in  pieces  and  bruise,"  (39-40.) 


LECTURE  II. 


25 


The  breast  and  arms  of  silver  symbol- 
ize the  Medo-Persian  empire,  founded  by 
Cyrus  the  Great,  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
preceding.  As  to  the  order  of  succes- 
sion here,  there  can  be  no  question.  All 
history  and  every  chronological  canon 
agree  in  the  general  facts,  however  they 
may  differ  as  to  the  precise  periods 
of  certain  reigns,  or  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  entire  empire.  There  was  none 
other. 

The  third  kingdom  of  brass,  "  which 
shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth,"  can, 
in  like  manner,  be  none  other  than  the 
Grasco-Macedonian,  set  up  by  Alexander 
the  son  of  Philip.  In  reference  to  this  there 
is  as  little  room  for  hesitancy  as  in  the 
case  of  its  predecessor.  There  is  an  un- 
broken chain  of  historical  evidence, — an 
entire  concurrence  of  all  antiquity.  The 
brazen  kingdom  is  the  empire  of  the 
brazen-coated  Greeks,  as  they  were  call- 
ed in  the  days  of  Homer.  These  we 
pass  by  with  a  brevity  correspondent  to 
that  of  Daniel,  for  they  must  all  come 
up  in  more  detail  hereafter.  What  we 
design  now  is  simply  a  general  outline, 
a  mere  sketch. 

The  last  of  the  four  is  of  course  the 
iron,  Roman  empire.  In  reference  to 
this  we  have  more  of  detail  here ;  be- 
cause its  connexion  and  collision  with  the 
little  stone  was,  and  is  of  longer  conti- 
nuance and  of  much  deeper  interest  than 
any  of  its  predecessors.  It  is  like  the 
fourth  beast  of  Daniel,  a  nondescript : 
not  of  uniform  character,  not  homoge- 
neous. The  others  were  simple  despot- 
isms ;  but  the  Roman  state  was  partly 
popular,  having  the  strength  of  the  iron 
blended  with  the  fragility  of  the  clay.  It 
underwent  a  variety  of  changes,  amount- 
ing almost  to  revolution;  still  amidst  its 
apparent  weaknesses,  it  maintained  its 
iron  character. 

Verses  41-43.  "  And  whereas  thou 
sawest  the  feet  and  toes,  part  of  potter's 
clay,  and  part  of  iron,  the  kingdom  shall 
be  divided  ;  but  there  shall  be  in  it  of 
the  strength  of  the  iron,  forasmuch  as 
thou  sawest  the  iron  mixed  with  miry 
clay.  And  as  the  toes  of  the  feet  were 
part<of  iron  and  part  of  clay:  so  the 
kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong  and  partly 

4 


broken.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  iron 
mixed  with  miry  clay,  they  shall  mingle 
themselves  with  the  seed  of  men:  but 
they  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,  even 
as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay." 

It  is  perhaps  not  extending  the  figura- 
tive language  of  the  symbol  too  far,  to 
suppose  that,  the  two  arms  of  the  second 
or  silver  empire,  represent  the  two  king- 
doms of  the  Medes  and  of  the  Persians 
united  into  one  new  government :  and 
that  the  lower  part  of  the  body  of  the 
brazen  empire,  sets  forth  the  kingdom  as 
established  by  Alexander,  but  the  thighs, 
— the  two  principal  sectionsof  itsdivision, 
the  kingdoms  of  the  Lagidse  or  Ptolemies, 
in  Egypt,  and  of  the  Seleucidse,  in  Syria  : 
so  here  the  two  legs  may  mean  the  divi- 
sion of  the  iron  despotism  into  the  east- 
ern and  the  western.  But  be  this  as  it 
may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  ten 
toes  symbolize  the  ten  kingdoms  into 
which  the  western  empire  was  divided 
upon  the  irruptions  of  the  Scythian 
hordes.  Some  of  these  kingdoms  were 
weak,  others  strong :  some  of  potter's 
clay  burnt,  and,  of  course,  fragile  ;  some 
of  iron,  strong  and  durable.  This  cor- 
responds with  the  historical  verity,  as  we 
shall  see  in  due  time. 

Some  interpreters  are  of  opinion  that 
verse  43  refers  to  the  various  alliances 
which  are  entered  into  by  the  kingdoms 
of  the  ten  toes,  through  marriages,  for 
the  purpose  of  strengthening  their  re- 
spective interests.  And  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted, that  among  the  corrupting  influ- 
ences of  despotic  government,  this  stands 
basely  prominent, — that  it  has  converted 
the  most  endearing  of  all  human  rela- 
tions into  a  matter  of  mere  traffic  for 
power :  the  heart's  best  affections  are 
swallowed  up  by  a  lust  for  dominion, 
and  a  prince  barters  his  own  daughter  to 
a  brother  despot,  for  the  paltry  chance 
of  winning  power  from  him.  This  ex- 
tended system  of  legalized,  national  pros- 
titution never  existed,  except  among  the 
feet  and  toes  of  the  monster ;  or,  per- 
haps we  should  rather  say,  here  only  is 
it  perfected  into  a  system.  Neverthe- 
less, these  alliances  do  not  answer  the 
purpose,  "  they  shall  not  cleave  one  to 
another."     They  have  resulted  more  in 


26 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


bloodshed  and  destruction  of  life,  than  in 
good  to  government. 

Other  commentators,  with  more  plausi- 
bility, maintain  that  the  allusion  is  to  the 
difficulty  of  amalgamating  the  northern 
barbarians  with  the  original  holders  of 
Roman  power.  The  Romans  continual- 
ly endeavoured  to  sustain  their  system 
of  government,  and  to  conquer  by  that 
system,  those  who  had  conquered  them 
by  the  sword  :  so  as  thus  to  transmute 
the  clay  into  iron,  and  preserve  the  unity 
and  strength  of  the  empire.  But  this 
coalition  and  amalgamation  could  not  be 
effected.  The  northern  barbarians  es- 
tablished independent  kingdoms  within 
the  empire ;  they  did  not  cleave  one  to 
another,  nor  to  the  Roman  Senate.  Some 
of  their  kingdoms  proved  mere  fragile 
toes  to  the  image,  and  were  soon  broken 
off;  whilst  others  proved  to  be  real  iron. 

Verses  44,  45.  "And  in  the  days  of 
these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set 
up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be 
left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall  break  in 
pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms, 
and  it  shall  stand  for  ever.  Forasmuch 
as  thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut 
out  of  the  mountain  without  hands,  and 
that  it  brake  in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass, 
the  clay,  the  silver  and  the  gold ;  the 
great  God  hath  made  known  to  the  king 
what  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter :  and 
the  dream  is  certain  and  the  interpreta- 
tion thereof  sure." 

The  first  difficulty  in  the  exposition 
here,  arises  from  the  possibility  of  ap- 
plying the  words,  "  these  kings"  either 
to  the  petty  kingdoms  symbolized  by  the 
ten  toes ;  or  to  the  four  great  kingdoms, 
or  monarchies,  previously  described.  If 
the  former  course  be  taken,  then  we 
must  look  for  the  rise  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  little  stone,  after  the  rise  of  the  ten 
kingdoms  ;  that  is  in  the  fifth  century  of 
the  Christian  era.  This  would  be  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  doctrine,  that  the 
little  stone  is  Christ's  kingdom  :  unless 
we  should  take  the  phrase  "  set  up  a 
kingdom,"  as  meaning  only  its  enlarge- 
ment and  extension.  And  we  admit  and 
maintain,  that  the  words  thus  translated, 
do  not  signify  the  first  production,  or  in- 


stitution :  at  least  not  necessarily  so. 
The  word  rendered  "  set  up"  is  used  (iii. 
24)  to  describe  Nebuchadnezzar's  action 
when  he  "  rose  up"  in  haste  :  a  form  of 
the  same  occurs  in  verse  1st;  he  "set 
up  the  image  in  the  plains  of  Dura."  It 
was  formed  before  it  was  erected  or  made 
to  stand.  This  is  the  exposition  given 
to  both  phrases  by  Dr.  Gill,  who  per- 
haps was  drawn  into  the  former  by  his 
party  preferences,  and  afterwards  forced 
into  the  latter  by  consistency.  The  Latin 
Vulgate,  in  Walton's  Polyglot  renders  it, 
"  But  in  the  days  of  those  kingdoms, 
shall  the  God  of  heaven  resuscitate  (sus- 
citabit)  a  kingdom."  The  Arabic  he 
translates  by  the  same  Latin  word.  The 
Syriac  and  Septuagint  has  it  kings,  and 
otherwise  the  same.  Whilst  therefore 
we  think  the  latter  exposition  true  and 
proper,  we  feel  very  sure  that  the  former 
is  far  from  a  fair  dealing  with  the  text. 
"  These  kings"  refers  to  the  four  monar- 
chies, and  not  to  the  toes  of  one  of  them. 

1.  Because  he  immediately  speaks  of 
the  fifth  or  kingdom  of  the  little  stone : 
and  brings  it  into  contrast  with  the  others, 
as  to  duration,  not  surely  with  the  ten 
toes,  but  with  the  four  kingdoms  which 
itself  will  destroy. 

2.  And  this  constituted  another  rea- 
son, because  he  speaks  directly  after- 
wards of  this  little  stone  breaking  in 
pieces  and  consuming  all  these  king- 
doms ; — all  what  kingdoms  ?  Surely  the 
very  ones  spoken  of  in  the  beginning  of 
the  verse;  the  very  gold  and  silver  and 
brass  and  iron  kingdoms,  that  it  will 
beat  small  as  the  chaff  of  the  summer 
threshing-floor. 

3.  But  this  last  fact  is  decisive  of  the 
matter,  because  the  little  stone  beats  in 
pieces,  not  the  toes  of  the  image,  not  the 
iron  and  clay  only,  but  the  silver  also, 
and  the  brass,  and  the  gold.  Now,  if 
the  kingdom  of  the  stone  did  not  come 
into  being  until  the  days  of  these  toe- 
kingdoms,  that  is,  until  the  fifth  or  sixth 
century  after  Christ, — nearly  one  thou- 
sand years  after  the  head  of  gold  was 
dissipated  as  chaff;  how  could  it  be  said 
that  this  little  stone  brake  in  pieces  the 
gold,  the  silver,  the  brass  and  the  iron  ? 
Clearly  then,  this  smooth  stone,  polished 


LECTURE  II. 


27 


in  the  brook,  where  flows  the  water  of 
life,  existed  in  the  days  of  the  giant  head; 
or  it  never  could  have  brought  Goliah  to 
the  dust. 

Now,  what  is  the  historical  fact  ?  Did 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  church  of 
the  living  God,  which  is  the  "  ground 
and  pillar  of  the  truth," — did  this  king- 
dom of  moral  law  exist  in  the  days  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  four  monar- 
chies? Ask  Paul,  whether  the  church  of 
God  in  the  ancient  times,  is  one  and  the 
self-same  church  that  was  in  his  day, 
and  that  shall  be,  when  "  all  Israel  shall 
be  saved."  Ask  him,  whether  the  Jew, 
who  was  cut  off  by  unbelief,  shall  be  in 
a  future  age  grafted  into  some  new 
stock  ;  or  into  his  own  olive  tree.  Ask 
the  whole  Bible  whether  God  ever  had 
but  one  church.  To  these  interrogations 
there  can  be  only  one  answer.  The 
kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness  is 
one,  and  these  words  themselves  were 
uttered  by  a  member  of  that  kingdom. 
Through  Daniel  himself  was  then  ope- 
rating that  influence,  which  will  ulti- 
mately overturn  the  great  image,  and 
utterly  annihilate  his  power. 

Nor  may  we  omit  to  notice  what  the 
prophet  says  about  the  independence  of 
this  kingdom.  It  was  to  Daniel,  the 
sweetest  portion  of  the  message  ; — "  and 
the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other 
people."  The  Latin  Vulgate,  (in  Walton), 
the  Septuagint,  and  the  Arabic,  all  have 
it  more  rigidly  translated,  his  kingdom  : 
God's  kingdom  shall  not  be  left,  or,  he 
will  not  leave  it  to  another  people.  He 
will,  in  due  time,  avenge  the  cause  of  his 
people,  and  "  the  sceptre  shall  not  de- 
part from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  be- 
tween his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come."  And 
no  doubt,  this  very  prediction  had  great 
influence  in  alleviating  the  evils  of  the 
captivity. 

The  "  cutting  out  of  the  little  stone 
from  the  mountain  without  hands,"  plain- 
ly intimates  that  the  kingdom  represented 
by  it ; — the  moral  truth  by  which  God 
governs  the  world,  is  not  the  production 
of  human  genius.  The  doctrines  of  God 
are  not  the  devices  of  man.  The  fifth 
universal  monarchy  is  that  of  God's 
own  truth,  and  like  the  smooth  stone  in 


David's  scrip,  it  is  hewn  out  by  the  God 
of  heaven  and  not  by  the  hand  of  man. 
The  gospel  came  not  by  man  ;  it  is  the 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  king- 
dom ruleth  over  all. 

In  conclusion,  we  remark, 

1.  This  vision  gives  a  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  the  very  general,  and  popu- 
lar fable  of  the  pagan  world,  concerning 
the  four  ages, — the  golden,  the  silver, 
the  brass  and  the  iron.  The  substance 
of  it  is  wrought  into  the  poetry  of  their 
bards,  just  as  we  should  expect  in  the 
case  of  tradition  obscured  by  time  and 
distance. 

2.  We  see  that,  whatever  be  the  ap- 
pearances to  the  contrary,  God  is  the 
governor  of  the  universe  :  and  this  truth 
Daniel  did  not  fear  to  tell  the  lordly 
sovereign  of  the  world's  empire.  This 
truth  the  rulers  of  earth's  brief  domain 
are  often  very  unwilling  to  admit.  Even 
in  our  own  republican  government,  some 
men  are  loath  to  hear  affirmed  the  doc- 
trine of  their  dependence  on  God,  and 
their  responsibility  to  him. 

3.  We,  who  preach  and  warn  men  in 
God's  stead,  in  humble  imitation  of  the 
holy  prophet,  will  make  this  truth  ring 
in  their  ears.  "  Ye  rulers  of  this  world," 
— Ye  judges  of  the  earth,  know  that  ye 
are  men,  and  that  all  men  must  stand 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ ! 

4.  There  are,  in  a  moral  sense,  but 
two  parties  in  the  world, — the  friends  of 
government  by  force,  and  the  friends  of 
government  by  moral  law.  The  latter, 
belong  to  God's  kingdom ;  the  former, 
to  Satan's. 

5.  The  church  of  God,  which  is  the 
depository  of  his  truth,  is  the  hope  and 
safety  of  the  world.  Her  cause  is  God's 
and  will  prevail.  By  her  agency  in  dis- 
seminating his  truth,  will  He  rule  over 
all  the  nations.  Her  triumph  is  certain, 
because  the  Lord  God  in  the  midst  of 
her  is  mighty ;  his  promises  are  sure ; 
and  He  will  do  all  his  pleasure. 


28 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


LECTURE  III. 

THE    GOLDEN    HEAD. 

"Come  down,  and  sit  in  the  dust,  O  virgin 
daughter  of  Babylon  ;  sit  on  the  ground  :  there 
is  no  throne,  O  daughter  of  the  Chaldeans." 
Isaiah  xlvii.  1. 

Isaiah,  the  sublimest  of  all  the  poets, 
the  most  clear-sighted  of  all  the  prophets, 
lived  and  wrote  in  the  days  of  "  Uzziah, 
Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of 
Judah."  That,  is,  from  696  before  Christ, 
when  it  is  supposed  he  was  sawn  asun- 
der by  Manasseh,  king  of  Judah,  back 
through  Hezekiah's  reign  of  twenty-nine 
years,  Ahaz's  of  sixteen,  and  Jotham's 
of  sixteen,  into  part  of  Uzziah's,  which 
extended  over  fifty-two  years.  Babylon 
was  taken  by  Cyrus,  A.  C.  538.  Con- 
sequently, Isaiah,  if  the  tradition  of  the 
Jews  is  correct,  that  he  was  put  to  death 
by  Manasseh,  in  the  first  year  of  his 
reign,  that  is,  696  before  Christ,  must 
have  delivered  the  last  of  his  prophecies 
one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  years  before 
the  sack  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus  :  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  time  to  set  at  defiance  all 
human  calculation,  and  to  prove,  upon 
the  fulfilment  of  the  facts  predicted,  that 
he  is  a  true  prophet  of  God. 

We  place  this  text  at  the  head,  simply 
to  point  cut  the  general  subject  of  the 
lecture,  namely,  the  kingdom  of  Baby- 
lon, and  not  to  limit  ourselves  to  the  ter- 
mination of  it.  On  the  contrary,  what 
we  design  is, 

I.  To  show  the  leading  historical  facts 
relative  to  this  "  head  of  gold." 

II.  To  point  out  the  prophecies,  and 
compare  them  with  the  facts. 

I.  The  well  authenticated  facts,  in  the 
early  history  of  this  first  large  empire, 
are  few.  The  first  item  in  the  order  of 
chronology,  is  the  foundation  of  the  king- 
dom. This  is  detailed  briefly  in  Gene- 
sis xi.  1 — 9.  "  And  the  whole  earth  was 
of  one  language  and  of  one  speech. 
And  it  came  to  pass  as  they  journeyed 
from  the  east,  that  they  found  a  plain  in 
the  land  of  Shinar,  and  they  dwelt  there. 
And  they  said  one  to  another,  Go  to,  let 
us  make  brick  and  burn  them  thorough- 
ly.   And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and 


slime  had  they  for  mortar.  And  they 
said,  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a 
tower,  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven, 
and  let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be 
scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth.  And  the  Lord  came  down 
to  see  the  city  and  the  tower  which  the 
children  of  men  builded.  And  the  Lord 
said,  Behold,  the  people  is  one,  and  they 
have  all  one  language ;  and  nothing  will 
be  restrained  from  them  which  they  have 
imagined  to  do.  Go  to,  let  us  go  down 
and  there  confound  their  language,  that 
they  may  not  understand  one  another's 
speech.  So  the  Lord  scattered  them 
abroad  from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all 
the  earth  :  and  they  left  off  to  build  the 
city.  Therefore  is  the  name  of  it  called 
Babel,  because  the  Lord  did  there  con- 
found the  language  of  all  the  earth  :  and 
from  thence  did  the  Lord  scatter  them 
abroad  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth." 

On  this  historical  sketch,  let  us  ob- 
serve, 

1.  The  marginal  reading,  (easticard) 
is  the  true  reading  ;  because  from  Mount 
Ararat,  where  the  Ark  of  Noah  rested, 
they  could  not  travel  from  the  east,  and 
arrive  at  Shinar,  low  down  in  the  Eu- 
phratean  valley.  Ararat  is  one  of  the 
mountains  of  Armenia,  and  lies  north, 
and  a  little  west  of  the  site  of  Babel. 
But  the  word  (D"inDj  mikkedem)  ren- 
dered in  the  text,  from  the  east,  is  neces- 
sarily rendered,  at,  in,  or  on  the  east. 
Gen.  ii.  8.  "  And  the  Lord  God  planted 
a  garden  eastivard,  in  the  east,  at  Eden  ;" 
and  iii.  24,  "  So  he  drove  out  the  man, 
and  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of 
Eden,  cherubim."  Gen.  xvi.  8.  Abra- 
ham pitched  his  tent  "  having  Bethel  on 
the  west,  and  Hai  on  the  east."  Again, 
the  same  .occurs  in  xii.  11, — "  Then  Lot 
chose  him  all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  and 
Lot  journeyed  east :" — surely  not  from 
the  east — but  at,  in,  or  on  the  east  of 
Abraham.  (See,  also.  Num.  xxxiv.  1, 
Josh.  vii.  2,  Jud.  viii.  11.)  Hence,  it  is 
undeniable,  that  the  word  means  at  the 
east.  The  construction  is  precisely  simi- 
lar to  the  Greek,  Acts  ii.  25,  "  I  foresaw 
the  Lord  always  before  my  face,  for  he 
is  on  my  right  hand,''''  (sx  Ssltuv) — so 


LECTURE  III. 


29 


the  Latin,  a  dcxtra.  In  their  journey- 
ings,  or  various  removings  and  encamp- 
ments, in  the  east,  they  finally  deter- 
mined to  settle  and  build  a  city  in  the 
land  of  Shinar. 

2.  The  declared  object  was,  to  pre- 
vent their  scattering  abroad  :  therefore 
it  must  have  been  before  there  was  any 
grand  dispersion ;  and  hence,  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  which  describes  the 
situation  of  considerable  numbers  of  the 
separated  tribes,  is  a  prolepsis  in  the 
history  :  and  the  expedition  of  Nimrod, 
(x.  8-10,)  was  subsequent  in  time  to 
the  erection  of  the  tower  here  men- 
tioned. It  is  there  stated  that  Nimrod, 
the  grandson  of  Ham,  and  great  grand- 
son of  Noah,  "  began  to  be  a  mighty 
one  in  the  earth.  He  was  a  mighty 
hunter  before  the  Lord, — and  the  be- 
ginning of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and 
Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the 
land  of  Shinar."  Daniel  also  tells  us 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  the  vessels 
from  the  temple  in  Jerusalem,  into  the 
land  of  Shinar.  Thus  we  identify  Ba- 
bylon with  Babel. 

3.  It  is  evident,  that  after  the  disper- 
sion consequent  upon  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  or  of  counsels, — and  some  consi- 
derable time  after, — Nimrod,  having  put 
himself,  by  his  daring  spirit  and  physi- 
cal prowess,  at  the  head  of  a  numerous 
band  of  men,  and,  conceiving  from  the 
very  sight  of  the  old  ruins,  the  project  of 
a  fixed  abode,  a  strong  city,  and  means 
of  defence,  undertook  its  reconstruction  : 
after  it  became  considerably  populous, 
he  sent  out  colonies  and  established  the 
others  above  named. 

Agreeably  to  the  Scripture  account, 
is  that  presented  to  us  in  Carey's  An- 
cient Fragments.  He  gives  the  follow- 
ing from  Berossus,  a  Babylonish  histo- 
rian of  the  age  of  Alexander,  the  son 
of  Philip  ;  who  says,  that  he  obtained 
this  and  other  items  of  history,  from  an- 
cient inscriptions  at  Babylon.  "  They 
say  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,  glorying  in  their  own  strength 
and  size,  and  despising  the  gods,  under- 
took to  raise  a  tower  whose  top  should 
reach  the  sky,  in  the  place  in  which 
Babylon  now  stands;    but  when  it  ap- 


proached the  heaven,  the  winds  assisted 
the  gods,  and  overturned  the  work  upon 
its  contrivers  :  and  its  ruins  are  said  to 
be  still  at  Babylon  :  and  the  gods  intro- 
duced a  diversity  of  tongues  among  men, 
who  till  that  time  had  all  spoken  the 
same  language  ;  and  a  war  arose  be- 
tween Cronus  and  Titan.  The  place  in 
which  they  built  the  tower  is  now  called 
Babylon,  on  account  of  the  confusion  of 
the  tongues,  for  confusion  is  by  the 
Hebrews  called  Babel  !"  (Carey's  Frag- 
ments, p.  35.) 

It  is  impossible  here,  not  to  see  the 
substantial  agreement  of  Berossus  with 
the  sacred  writer,  as  it  regards  the 
origin  of  the  first  great  kingdom. 

4.  Nimrod  was  the  great  grandson 
of  Noah  ; — the  line  runs  thus, — Noah, 
Ham,  Cush,  Nimrod.  The  age  of  the 
father,  at  the  birth  of  his  first  son,  is 
not  given  in  this  line,  as  in  that  of 
Shem  ;  no  doubt  because  the  true  reli- 
gion, whose  history  the  Bible  designs  to 
preserve,  was  found  in  the  latter.  If, 
however,  we  take  the  line  of  Shem  as  a 
data  of  calculation,  we  may  approximate 
the  period  of  Nimrod's  settlement,  and 
also  form  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  human 
population  at  the  time  of  Babel's  failure 
and  Babylon's  success.  Now  Salah, 
the  grandson  of  Noah,  in  Shem's  line, 
was  born  sixty-seven  years  after  the 
flood,  or  in  the  year  of  the  world,  1724, 
— two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty 
years  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour. 
If  therefore,  Nimrod  was  born  sixty- 
seven  years  after  the  flood,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  world  could  scarcely  have 
been  counted  by  thousands,  at  his  birth. 
Salah  lived  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  years  ;  supposing  Nimrod  to  have 
lived  as  long,  by  the  middle  of  his  days, 
the  population  might  be  sixty  times  as 
great  as  when  he  was  born ;  and  they 
might  begin  to  feel  the  erection  of  a 
city  to  be  within  their  capacity.  -But 
this  attempt  might  be  abandoned,  and 
the  place  lie  in  ruins  a  hundred  years, 
when  Nimrod  began  to  be  a  great  prince, 
and  he  would  still  have  a  hundred  and 
thirty-three  years  to  rebuild  Babel,  and 
found  his  other  cities. 

From  the  flood  to  the  birth  of  Abra- 


30 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ham,  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-two 
years,  at  which  time  Nimrod  would  be 
two  hundred  and  eighty-five  years  old  ; 
and  if  he  lived  no  longer  than  Salah,  he 
would  be  a  hundred  and  forty-eight 
years  cotemporary  with  Abraham  ;  if 
he  lived  sixty-eight  years  less  than  Salah, 
as  must  have  been  the  case,  then  Am- 
raphel,  king  of  Shinar,  (Gen.  xiv.  1,) 
who  with  three  others,  made  war  upon  the 
kings  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  might, 
very  possibly  have  been  his  son,  and 
must  have  been  his  immediate  successor. 
This  will  be  the  more  easily  believed, 
from  the  fact,  that  Shem  himself  was  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  cotemporary 
with  Abraham,  and  of  course  fifty  years 
cotemporary  with  Isaac. 

The  next  item  of  history,  bearing 
upon  our  subject,  is  the  origin  of  Ni- 
neveh. In  Gen.  x.  11,  we  learn  that 
"  out  of  that  land" — Shinar — "  went 
forth  Ashur,  and  builded  Nineveh"  and 
other  cities. 

Such  is  all  that  infallible  history 
gives  us,  of  the  early  days  of  the  As- 
syrian, as  distinguished  from  the  Baby- 
lonian empire. 

The  truth  probably  is,  that  they  were 
rival  cities,  and  had  occasional  con- 
flicts for  the  supremacy  ;  sometimes  one, 
sometimes  another,  being  in  the  ascend- 
ant. Ktesias,  the  Greek  historian,  makes 
Semiramis,  the  widow  of  Ninus,  the 
founder  of  Babylon  ;  at  least  imputes  to 
her  all  its  splendid  works  :  but  Ktesias 
wrote  from  imagination.  We  learn, 
however,  from  Isaiah,  (xiv.  22,  25,)  that 
the  names  are  convertible  terms  :  for  in 
verse  22,  he  denounces  God's  wrath 
against  Babylon  ;  and  in  verse  25,  con- 
tinuing to  speak  of  the  same  subject  of 
divine  displeasure,  he  says,  "  I  will 
break  the  Assyrian  in  my  land  :"  at  the 
time  referred  to,  Nineveh  was  in  ruins, 
and  Assyria,  a  Babylonian  province. 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  indeed,  considers  the 
two  as  sister  cities,  and  as  sustaining, 
for  the  most  part,  amicable  relations, 
until  a  late  period  of  their  history.  He 
assigns  their  kindred  origin  as  a  reason 
for  this.    (See  Univ.  Hist.  iii.  361-413.) 

Calmet  gives  as  brief  an  account  as 
we  have   seen  of  this  wonderful  city, 


and  from  him  we  make  an  extract. 
"  The  following  is  a  description  of  Ba- 
bylon in  its  greatest  splendour,  whether 
it  were  the  work  of  Semiramis,  or  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  ;  for  the  ancients  are 
not  agreed  among  themselves  as  to  this 
article  :  we  shall  borrow  this  description 
principally  from  Herodotus,  who  had 
been  upon  the  spot,  and  is  the  oldest 
author  who  has  treated  of  this  matter. 

"  The  city  was  square,  an  hundred  and 
twenty  furlongs  every  way,  that  is  to 
say,  fifteen  miles,  or  five  leagues  square, 
and  the  whole  circuit  of  it,  four  hundred 
and  eighty  furlongs  or  twenty  leagues — 
(sixty  miles.)  The  walls  of  it  were 
built  with  large  bricks,  cemented  with 
bitumen,  a  thick,  glutinous  liquor,  which 
issues  out  of  the  earth  in  the  country 
hereabouts  ;  it  binds  stronger  than  mor- 
tar, and  becomes  harder  than  the  brick 
itself,  for  which  it  is  made  use  of  as  a 
cement.  These  walls  were  eighty-seven 
feet  thick,  three  hundred  and  fifty  high, 
and  four  hundred  and  eighty  furlongs 
in  circumference. 

"  The  city  was  encompassed  with  a 
vast  ditch,  filled  with  water,  and  brick- 
work carried  up  on  both  sides.  The 
earth  which  was  dug  out,  was  employed 
in  making  the  bricks  wherewith  the 
walls  of  the  city  were  built,  so  that  one 
may  judge  of  the  depth  and  largeness  of 
the  ditch,  by  the  extreme  height  and 
thickness  of  the  walls. 

"  There  were  an  hundred  gates  be- 
longing to  the  city,  five  and  twenty  on 
each  of  the  four  sides.  All  these  gates, 
with  the  posts  and  upper  parts  of  them, 
were  of  massy  brass.  Between  every 
two  of  these  gates  at  particular  distances, 
were  three  towers,  and  three  between 
each  angle  of  this  great  square :  the 
towers  were  raised  ten  feet  higher  than 
the  walls,  which  is  to  be  understood  of 
those  places  only,  where  they  were  ne- 
cessary ;  for  the  city,  being  encom- 
passed in  several  places,  with  marshes, 
which  were  always  full  of  water,  and 
defended  the  approach  to  it,  there  was 
no  need  of  towers  on  those  sides." 

"  There  was  a  street  answering  to 
every  gate,  so  that  there  were  fifty 
streets  in  all,  which  led  from  one  gate 


LECTURE  111. 


31 


to  another,  and  cut  one  another  at  right 
angles,  and  were  each  fifteen  miles 
long,  or  five  good  leagues  in  length,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet  wide. 

"  The  Euphrates  cut  the  city  into  two 
equal  parts  from  north  to  south.  A 
bridge  of  admirable  structure,  of  about 
a  furlong,  or  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
paces  in  length,  and  thirty  in  width, 
continued  a  communication  from  one 
part  of  the  city  to  the  other." 

The  historian  proceeds  to  describe  the 
Temple  of  Belus,  the  palace,  the  hanging 
gardens,  or  artificial  forests,  built  on 
arches  piled  upon  arches ;  covered  over 
with  trees  and  shrubbery,  equalling,  and 
sometimes  exceeding,  the  height  of  the 
walls. 

Above  the  city,  there  was  an  artificial 
lake,  forty  miles  square,  and  thirty-five 
feet  deep,  which  was  filled  from  the  river, 
during  the  time  of  high  water,  and,  in 
the  dry  season,  was  drawn  off',  for  the 
supply  of  the  city,  and  for  irrigation. 

Such,  and  far  more  gorgeous,  are  the 
accounts  given  of  these  splendid  works  of 
human  genius.  From  the  least  embel- 
lished of  the  histories  however,  we  must 
make  many  deductions,  if  we  would  ap- 
proximate truth.  Many  a  magnificent 
city  has  existed  on  paper,  or  in  the 
realms  of  fancy.  This  sketch  is  neces- 
sary to  the  right  understanding  of  some 
prophecies  that  must  hereafter  claim  our 
attention. 

Before  we  proceed,  it  may  be  well  to 
state,  that  chronologers  have  given  us  a 
list  of  forty-one  kings  from  Belus,  (i.  e. 
Nimrod)  down  to  Sardanapalus  ;  of  most 
of  these,  the  name  only  is  known,  and 
that  probably,  was  coined  for  the  occa- 
sion. (See  Carey's  Ancient  Fragments, 
p.  70-72.) 

Of  the  second  Assyrian  empire,  or 
race  of  kings,  we  know  more,  because 
they  redeemed  themselves  from  oblivion 
by  their  connexion  with,  and  oppression 
of,  the  church. 

The  first  king  of  this  line  mentioned 
in  Scripture,  is  Pul,  (2  Kings,  xv.  19,) 
to  whom  Menahem  Kins  of  Israel  gave 
as  tribute,  a  thousand  talents  of  silver. 
The  Universal  History  makes  him  the 
father  of  Tiglath  Pilezar,King  of  Assyria, 


mentioned  in  verse  29  of  the  same  chap- 
ter ;  and  also  of  Nabonassar,  to  whom 
he  gave  Babylon ;  whilst  Arbaces,  the 
leading  conspirator  with  him,  in  the 
destruction  of  the  effeminate  Sardanapa- 
lus, retained  the  government  over  the 
Medes.  Nabonassar  is  the  Shalmanezar 
who  "  took  Samaria,  and  carried  Israel 
away  captive  into  Assyria,  and  placed 
them  in  Halah,  and  Habor,  and  in  the 
cities  of  the  Medes."  (2  Kings,  xvii.  3.) 

The  third  king  of  this  line  was  Senna- 
cherib, who  attacked  Hezekiah,  and  lost 
in  one  night,  by  a  stroke  of  Jehovah's 
power,  a  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou- 
sand men  (2  Kings  xviii.,  xix.  35) ;  after 
which  he  fled  to  his  own  land,  where  he 
was  slain  by  two  of  his  sons,  while  a 
third,  named  Esarhaddon,  succeeded  him 
in  the  kingdom.  This  prince  possessed 
considerable  energy  of  character.  He 
restored  the  territory  lost  by  his  father, 
adding  Syria  and  Palestine  to  the  Assy- 
rian empire.  The  Lord  of  kingdoms 
used  him  as  a  rod  of  correction,  against 
his  own  people,  for  the  gross  impieties 
which  they  practised  in  the  reign  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  King  of  Judah.  "  Wherefore  the 
Lord  brought  upon  them  the  captains  of 
the  host  of  the  King  of  Assyria,  which 
took  Manasseh  among  the  thorns,  and 
bound  him  with  fetters,  and  carried  him 
to  Babylon,"  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11.)  We 
have  evidence  here,  that  although  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon  were  distinct  kingdoms, 
in  a  degree,  yet  by  some  revolution,  the 
Ninevite  King,  Esarhaddon,  had  posses- 
sion of  Babylon  at  this  time ;  for  these 
captains  of  the  host  of  the  King  of  As- 
syria, carried  their  captives,  not  to  Nine- 
veh, but  to  Babylon. 

After  this,  considerable  confusion  pre- 
vails, and  historians  have  failed  to  settle 
with  certainty  even  the  exact  state  of  the 
succession.  The  affairs  of  the  two 
governments  are  very  much  blended, 
and  intertwined  even  with  those  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians.  It  is  probable  that 
Saosduchinus,  given  in  the  ecclesiastical 
and  astronomical  canons,  as  the  four- 
teenth king,  was  the  Nebuchadonoser  of 
the  apocryphal  book  of  Judith.  After 
him,  followed  Saracus,  a  prince  of  effe- 
minate habits,  against  whom  Nabopolas- 


32 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


sar,  his  general,  revolted  ;  and  having 
formed  an  alliance  with  Cyaxeres  I., 
King  of  Media,  he  fell  upon  Saracus,  de- 
feated his  army,  took  Nineveh,  and  laid 
the  city  in  ruins.  The  Median  king 
being  obliged  to  return  speedily  to  repel 
an  invasion  of  the  Scythians,  Nabopo- 
lassar  established  himself  at  Babylon,  as 
sole  monarch  of  the  Assyrio-Babylonian 
empire.  To  him  succeeded  his  son, 
Nebuchadonoser  II.,  or  Nebuchadnezzar, 
the  Great,  who  figures  so  largely  in  his- 
tory, sacred  and  profane. 

After  a  prosperous  reign,  as  we  have 
seen,  of  forty-three  years,  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  son,  Evil  Merodach,  a  dis- 
sipated prince,  who  was  cut  off  by  a  con- 
spiracy. One  of  the  conspirators,  named 
Neriglisear,  who  had  married  the  king's 
sister,  was  placed  upon  the  throne.  In 
about  three  years  he  was  disposed  of,  as 
his  predecessor  had  been,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  who  also  met  with  a 
similar  fate.  A  son  of  Evil  Merodach, 
called  Labynitus,  sometimes  Nabonassar, 
and  in  Daniel,  Belshazzar,  next  swayed 
the  sceptre,  which  he  held  but  three 
years,  when  he  fell  with  the  Assyrio- 
Babylonian  Empire,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  sack  of  the  city,  by  the  conjunct 
armies  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  under 
Cyrus  the  Great. 

Thus  we  have  noted  the  leading  events 
of  what  is  properly  the  political  history 
of  the  golden  head  ;  and  find  ourselves 
brought  down  to  the  year  before  Christ, 
538. 

There  remains  one  point,  of  very  great 
importance  to  the  whole  of  this  discus- 
sion, which  it  may  be  well  now  to  exa- 
mine ;  that  is,  the  complex  character  of 
the  dominion  symbolized  by  the  image, 
and  its  several  subdivisions  :  it  embraces 
the  civil,  the  military,  and  the  religious 
power.  In  regard  to  the  first  two,  we 
need  not  delay  with  a  single  remark. 
The  civil  rule  is  always  allied  to  the 
sword. 

Without  the  latter,  as  a  last  resort, 
the  former  would,  in  a  government  of 
imperfect  beings,  be  a  mere  nullity. 
God's  moral  government,  both  in  refer- 
ence to  individuals  and  nations,  involves 
moral  rule  to  direct  conduct,  and  physi- 


cal evil  to  punish  disobedience.  The 
sceptre  in  the  hand,  and  the  sword  in 
the  sheath  ; — this  is  God's  mode  of  go- 
verning man,  and  it  is  the  mode  He  will 
have  man  to  practise  upon  his  fellow. 

But  the  third  element  ought  not  to  co- 
alesce in  the  same  hands.  The  religious 
power,  so  to  speak,  cannot  be,  safely  for 
man,  and  honourably  for  God,  committed 
to  those  who  wield  the  civil  and  the  mili- 
tary. The  mitre  cannot  rest  upon  the 
crown,  nor  the  crown  upon  the  mitre. 
Still  more  unseemly  is  the  coalition  be- 
tween the  latter  and  the  sword.  If  reli- 
gion would  command  the  heart  of  man, 
she  must  not  have  her  hands  stained 
with  the  blood  which  it  propels.  Her 
office  is  to  stand  between  the  sword  and 
sceptre  ;  to  teach  submission  to  the  one, 
as  the  only  sure  way  of  avoiding  the 
stroke  of  the  other.  But  in  order  to  this, 
she  must  occupy  independent  ground. 
Submission  to  brute  force,  she  never  can 
teach,  either  theoretically  or  practically. 
Religion, — true  religion,  never  sanctions 
the  principle  that  there  is  virtue  in  suffer- 
ing penal  evil.  She  never  felicitates 
herself  upon  enduring  deserved  punish: 
ment ;  nor  will  she  ever  call  such  endu- 
rance by  others  a  moral  virtue.  But  if 
the  religious  power  is  lodged  in  the  same 
hands  with  the  civil  and  military,  such 
will  be  the  use  made  of  it  by  corrupt 
man.  Ever  and  anon  will  he  summon 
the  religious  principle,  to  sustain  arbitrary 
dominion,  and  bow  the  neck  of  his  fellow 
to  the  sword,  rather  than  to  the  sceptre. 
The  kingdom  of  the  golden-headed  image 
is  our  illustration.  It  has  been,  from  the 
first,  a  religious  establishment.  There 
is  a  union  of  the  three  powers.  The 
temple  of  Belus  stands  beside  the  tower 
of  Babel :  the  worship  of  the  god  is  as 
much  under  the  control  of  the  king,  as 
is  the  administration  of  justice  :  the  ex- 
penses of  religion,  equally  with  those  of 
the  civil  and  military  departments,  de- 
volve upon  him. 

It  is  our  wish  to  press  this  matter  upon 
your  notice,  not  as  a  characteristic  merely 
of  the  golden  head,  but  of  the  whole 
image.  It  is  a  feature  of  the  monster, — 
an  essential  ingredient  in  the  composi- 
tion of  his  very  being.     Without  this, 


LECTURE  III. 


33 


he  would  not  be  what  he  is,  a  despot : 
strip  him  of  it,  and  his  nature  is  changed. 
Divide  the  religious  from  the  civil  and 
military  powers,  and  the  monster  is  a 
man  :  he  has  the  peculiarities,  lineaments, 
and  feelings  of  a  man.  But  such  divi- 
sion has  never  yet  been  effected.  The 
religious  has  never  been  so  separated 
from  the  civil,  as  to  make  it  an  inde- 
pendent and  untrammelled  interest.  The 
Chaldeans,  soothsayers,  astrologers, 
priests  of  Belus,  all  were  subject  to  the 
absolute  control  of  the  monarch,  as  com- 
pletely as  were  the  civil  officers.  Such 
was  also  the  case  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
silver  beast.  Cyrus  himself  was  reli- 
gious in  his  way,  to  an  excess,  like  the 
Athenians  in  the  days  of  Paul ;  and  he 
kept  up  the  system  of  the  preceding 
dynasties,  except  in  the  matter  of  expen- 
sive temples.  Throughout  the  Persian 
empire  religion  was  a  part  of  the  mo- 
narch's concern  ;  church  and  state  con- 
stituted one  power :  the  priesthood  of 
their  superstition  were  officers  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  brazen  and  the  iron  kingdoms 
made  no  improvement  in  this  matter. 
On  the  contrary,  the  controlling  in- 
fluence of  government  over  religion, 
was  more  thoroughly  worked  into  sys- 
tem. Greece  and  Rome  vied  with  Persia 
and  Babylon  in  the  splendour  of  their 
religious  establishments.  The  most  mag- 
nificent relics  of  the  arts  in  both — where 
are  they  to  be  found,  but  amid  the  ruins 
of  temples  and  altars  ?  On  what  point 
did  genius  and  wealth  concentrate  all 
their  power,  if  not  on  religious  architec- 
ture 1  Look  at  the  temple  of  Diana  ; 
the  Acropolis  of  Corinth  ;  of  Athens  ;  of 
Rome.  What  has  Greece  left,  like  the 
temple  of  Jupiter,  and  the  Parthenon  ? 
Does  not  ancient  Rome  boast  of  her 
Pantheon  ;  and  modern  Rome  of  her 
St.  Peter's  ?  Even  among  the  kingdoms 
of  the  ten  toes,  the  same  spirit  may  be 
remarked.  St.  Paul's,  Notre  Dame,  and 
a  thousand  other  spires  testify  the  com- 
bination of  the  civil  and  religious  powers, 
by  the  concentration  of  immense  capital 
upon  an  ecclesiastical  establishment. 
Indeed  we  think  history  will  bear  out 
the  assertion,  that  all  the  four  great  mo- 

5 


narchies  invested  more  capital  in  such 
establishments,  than  in  any  other  form  : 
and  we  suppose  no  sane  man  wili  affirm, 
that  this  resulted  from  real  love  for  true 
religion. 

On  the  contrary,  the  policy  lies  open  ; 
there  is  no  effort  at  concealment,  even 
in  Christian  Rome,  and  among  the  ten 
toes  of  the  image  :  it  always  has  been, 
simply  to  make  the  religious  principle 
subservient  to  despotic  rule.  True  re- 
ligion never  can  so  succumb  ;  but  super- 
stition, which  is  the  religious  principle 
perverted,  has  always  been  the  main 
pillar  of  tyranny.  But  the  kingdom  of 
the  little  stone,  is  at  eternal  war  with 
this  principle.  It  claims  a  distinct  and 
independent  existence  in  the  world.  It 
pledges  itself,  not  to  interfere  with  the 
legitimate  action  of  the  civil  power,  and 
it  demands  reciprocity.  It  proffers,  in- 
direct, yet  most  efficient  aid  to  govern- 
ment founded  in  right,  but  asks  no  re- 
muneration, and  no  protection.  "  My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  This 
doctrine  of  an  empire  within  an  empire, 
yet  no  interference,  is  matter  of  revela- 
tion. To  man  unenlightened,  it  appears 
impossible  and  impracticable ;  but  to 
God,  and  his  church,  it  is  plain,  simple* 
actual.  All  the  church  asks  of  civil 
government,  is, — "Let  us  alone;  we 
ask  not  your  blessing,  and  we  have 
no  right  to  your  malediction  :  let  us 
alone." 

II.  The  prophecies,  relative  to  the 
golden  head  and  their  fulfilment,  now 
claim  our  attention. 

The  first  prediction,  whose  accom- 
plishment was  fulfilled  through  the 
agency  of  the  golden  head,  was  that 
delivered  by  Moses.  Just  before  his 
death,  about  nine  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  years  after  the  flood,  he  tells  the 
people,  that  for  their  sins,  God  will 
"  deliver  them  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemies,  and  scatter  them  among  the 
nations,  and  they  shall  find  no  ease." — 
(Deut.  xxviii.  48,  49,  64,  65.) 

This  was  in  part  accomplished,  when 
"  the  God  of  Israel  stirred  up  the  spirit  of 
Pul,  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  spirit  of 
Tilgath-pilneser,  king  of  Assyria,  and 
he  carried  them  away,  (even  the  Reu- 


34 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


benites,  and  (he  Gadites,  and  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,)  and  brought  them 
unto  Halah,  and  Habor,  and  Hara,  and 
to  the  river  Gozan,  unto  this  day."  (1 
Chron.  v.  26.)  Isaiah  is  more  explicit. 
In  chapters  vii.  17-20 ;  viii.  4 ;  xxxix. 
5-7,  and  the  parallel,  2  Kings  xx.  17-19, 
he  predicts  the  captivity.  He  tells  He- 
zekiah  that  "  all  that  is  in  his  house 
shall  be  carried  to  Babylon,  and  his  sons 
shall  they  take  away,  and  they  shall  be 
eunuchs  in  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Ba- 
bylon."— Jeremiah,  in  chapters  xx.  45  ; 
xxv.  9;  xxvii.  20,  21,  22;  xxxii.  28, 
predicts  more  at  large,  the  same  events. 
This  prediction  of  Isaiah,  was  uttered 
just  after  Hezckiah  had  recovered  from 
his  sickness,  by  the  miracle  of  the  bunch 
of  figs,  (2  Kings,  xx.  7,)  and  the  turn- 
ing back  of  the  shadow  on  the  dial  of 
Ahaz,  as  the  sign  that  fifteen  years 
should  be  added  to  the  king's  life ;  the 
prophecy,  therefore,  preceded  his  death 
that  length  of  time.  Add  these  to  the 
fifty-five  years  of  Manasseh's  reign, 
2  Chron.  xxxiii.  1 ,  and  it  makes  70  years, 
xxxiii.  21,  Amon's  2     " 

xxxiv.    1,  Josiah's        31     " 
xxxvi.    2,  Jehoahaz's       \  " 
"        5,  Jehoiakim'sll     " 
"         9,  Jehoiachin's     |  " 
"       11,  Zedekiah's  11     " 


The  whole  gives  us,  -  125J  yrs. 
between  the  delivery  of  the  prophecy  and 
captivity,  which  completed  its  fulfilment 
by  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

For  this  very  agency  in  accomplish- 
ing the  divine  purpose,  was  the  Baby- 
lonish empire  overthrown.  The  little 
stone  began  thus  early,  to  break  in 
pieces  the  giant  image.  "  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,"  says  Jeremiah  (xxv.  12,) 
"  when  seventy  years  are  accomplished, 
that  I  will  punish  the  king  of  Babylon, 
and  that  nation,  saith  the  Lord,  for  their 
iniquity,  and  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans, 
and  will  make  it  perpetual  desolations." 
In  i.  11,  he  states  the  same  reason  for 
Chaldea's  destruction ;  "  Because  ye 
were  glad,  because  ye  rejoiced,  O !  ye 
destroyers  of  mine  heritage  :" — and  li. 
35,  36, — "  The  violence  done  to  me, 
and  to  my  flesh  be  upon  Babylon,  shall 


the  inhabitant  of  Zion  say,  and  my 
blood  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Chaldea, 
shall  Jerusalem  say.  Therefore,  thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Behold  I  will  plead  thy 
cause,  and  take  vengeance  for  thee,  and 
I  will  dry  up  her  sea,  and  make  her 
springs  dry."  To  the  same  purport, 
Isaiah  (x.  5-7)  says,  "  O,  Assyrian,  the 
rod  of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their 
hand,  is  mine  indignation.  I  will  send 
him  against  an  hypocritical  nation,  and 
against  the  people  of  my  wrath  (that  is, 
Jerusalem,)  will  I  give  him  a  charge,  to 
take  the  spoil,  and  to  take  the  prey  ; 
and  to  tread  them  down  like  the  mire  of 
the  streets.  Howbeit,  he  meaneth  not 
so,  neither  doth  his  heart  think  so  ;  but 
it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  to  cut 
off  nations  not  a  few."  And  verse  12, 
"  Wherefore  it  shall  come  to  pass  that 
when  the  Lord  hath  performed  his  whole 
work  upon  Mount  Zion,  and  Jerusalem, 
I  will  punish  the  fruit  of  the  stout  heart 
of  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  glory  of 
his  high  looks  :" — verse  17, — "  And  the 
Light  of  Israel  shall  be  for  a  fire,  and 
his  Holy  One  for  a  flame,  and  it  shall 
burn  and  devour  his  thorns  and  his 
briers  ;" — Babylon's  destruction  comes 
out  of  Zion, — the  flame  that  consumes 
her,  is  kindled  by  a  spark,  struck  from 
the  little  stone. 

But  let  us  attend  to  the  predictions 
somewhat  more  in  detail  :  collated  at 
the  same  time  with  the  history  of  their 
fulfilment. 

Let  us  look  whence  comes  the  agency 
of  this  destruction. 

Isaiah,  in  chap,  xiii.,  which  he  heads 
"  The  burden  of  Babylon,"  says,  "  Be- 
hold, I  will  stir  up  the  Medes  against 
them,  which  shall  not  regard  silver; 
and  as  for  gold,  they  shall  not  delight 
in  it.  Their  bows,  also,  shall  dash  the 
young  men  to  pieces,"  (17,  18.) — xxi.  2, 
"Go  up  O  Elam;  besiege  O  Media; 
all  the  sighing  thereof,  have  I  made  to 
cease."  He  then  proceeds  to  detail  the 
terrible  agonies  of  a  ruined  city  ;  and  in 
verse  9,  the  watchman  exclaims,  "  Ba- 
bylon is  fallen — is  fallen  ;  all  the  graven 
images  of  her  gods,  he  hath  broken  unto 
the  ground."  Elam  is  the  Scripture 
name  for  Persia  :  from  Media  and  Persia, 


LECTURE  III. 


35 


then,  are  to  come  the  forces  that  must 
lay  Babylon  and  her  gods  in  the  dust. 

Jeremiah  (1.  9)  tells  us  from  what 
quarter  they  shall  come, — "  an  assembly 
of  the  nations  from  the  north  country ;" 
(li.  27-28.)  "  Set  ye  up  a  standard  in 
the  land,  blow  the  trumpet  among  the 
nations,  prepare  the  nations  against  her, 
call  together  against  her,  the  kingdoms 
of  Ararat,  Minni,  and  Ashchenaz ;  ap- 
point a  captain  against  her;  cause  the 
horses  to  come  up,  as  the  rough  cater- 
pillars. Prepare  against  her  the  nations, 
with  the  kings  of  the  Medes." — Isaiah 
proceeds  to  name  the  captain  of  these 
northern  hosts — (xlv.  1.)  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  to  his  anointed,  to  Cyrus." 

Now,  however  historians  may  differ, 
and  they  do  differ  most  strangely  in  re- 
gard to  many  items  in  the  history  of 
Cyrus  the  Great,  they  agree  in  the 
general  facts,  that  he  was  a  Persian  by 
birth ;  son  of  Cambyses,  King  of  Per- 
sia ;  and  his  mother,  Mandane,  was 
daughter  of  Astyages,  King  of  Media. 
It  is  geographically  true,  that  both 
countries  were  in  a  northern  direction 
from  Babylon,  and  especially,  that  Ar- 
menia, and  many  other  countries,  which 
had  been  brought  under  the  Median 
power  by  the  generalship  of  Cyrus,  lay 
on  the  north.  Cyrus  had  carried  his 
victorious  arms  to  the  Egean  Sea,  hav- 
ing conquered,  on  the  plains  of  Thym- 
bria,  near  Sardis,  the  capital  of  Lydia, 
the  immense  army  of  King  Crcesus,  and 
his  numerous  allies.  He  returned,  rich 
in  spoils  and  resources,  and  laid  siege 
to  Babylon. 

Other  prophecies  relate  to  the  same 
subject.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his 
anointed,  to  Cyrus,  whose  right  hand  I 
have  holden,  to  subdue  nations  before 
him  ;  and  I  will  loose  the  loins  of  kings, 
to  open  before  him  the  two-leaved  gates, 
and  the  gates  of  brass  shall  not  be  shut. 
I  will  go  before  thee,  and  make  the 
crooked  places  straight,  and  I  will  break 
in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in 
sunder  the  bars  of  iron." — (Isaiah  xlv. 
1,2.) 

Here  allow  me,  also,  to  lay  before 
you  a  kind  of  prophecy  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar  himself.     The  original   is   pre- 


sented from  Eusebius.     "  Alydenus,  in 
his    history  of  the  Assyrians,  has  pre- 
served  the   following   fragment  of  Me- 
gasthenes,    who   says :    That    Nabuco- 
drosorus,  having  become  more  powerful 
than  Hercules,  invaded  Lybia  and  Ibe- 
ria ;  and  when  he  had   rendered  them 
tributary,    he   extended    his    conquests 
over  the  inhabitants  of  the  shores  upon 
the  right  of  the  sea.     It  is  moreover  re- 
lated by  the  Chaldeans,  that  as  he  went 
up  into  his  palace,  he  was  possessed  by 
some  god,  and  cried  out  and  said,  '  O  ! 
Babylonians,  I,  Nabucodrosorus,  foretell 
unto  you  a  calamity  which  must  shortly 
come  to  pass,  which  neither  Belus,  my 
ancestor,   nor   his    queen   Beltis,   have 
power    to    persuade'  the  Fates  to  turn 
away.    A  Persian  mule  shall  come,  and 
by  the  assistance  of  your  gods,  shall  im- 
pose upon  you  the  yoke  of  slavery  :  the 
author  of  which  shall  be  a  Mede,  the 
vain-glory  of  Assyria.  Before  he  should 
thus  betray  my  subjects,  oh  !  that  some 
sea  or  whirlpool  might  receive  him,  and 
his  memory  be  blotted  out  for  ever ;  or 
that  he  might  be  cast  out,  to  wander 
through   some  desert,  where  there  are 
neither  cities  nor  the  trace  of  men  ,•  a 
solitary  exile  among  rocks  and  caverns, 
where  beasts  and  birds  alone  abide.    But 
for  me,  before  he  shall  have  conceived 
these  mischiefs  in   his  mind,  a  happier 
end  will  be  provided.'  "     "  Herodotus," 
says  Bishop  Newton  (vol.  ii.  161),  "who 
was  a  much   older  historian  than  Me- 
gasthenes,  relates  that  a  Delphic  oracle 
was  given  to  Crcesus,   King  of  Lydia, 
that  when  a  mule  should  rule  over  the 
Medes,  then  he  should  not  be  ashamed 
to  fly  away.     Which  oracle  was  after- 
wards thus  interpreted   by  the  Pythian 
priestess  :  Cyrus  was  this  mule,  for  he 
was  born  of  parents  of  different  nations, 
the  mother  the  better,  and  the  father  the 
meaner — for  she  was  a  Mede,  and  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Medes,  but 
he  was  a  Persian,  and   subject   to  the 
Medes."     Whatever  we    may   think  of 
these,  as  pretensions   to  prophecy,  one 
thing  is  -obvious  :  they  have  long  been 
history,   and    prove   the   leading    facts 
pointed  out  by  Isaiah. 

We  need  not  delay,  in  speaking  far- 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ther  of  the  historical  events,  for  every 
schoolboy  knows  that  Cyrus,  command- 
ing  the  army  in  the  name  of  his  uncle, 
Cyaxeres,  (who  was  afterwards  his  fa- 
ther-in-law,) turned  off  the  branch  of 
the  Euphrates  that  ran  through  Babylon, 
and  directed  his  generals,  Gobryas  and 
Gadates,  to  march  the  troops  along  the 
empty  channel  of  the  river,  and  enter 
by  the  gates,  which  led  up  from  the 
water's  edge.  These  gates  they  found 
open  and  unguarded,  for  it  was  a  night 
of  great  festivity  in  honour  of  their 
gods ;  probably  the  same  as  referred  to 
by  Berassus  in  the  first  book  of  his 
Babylonian  history,  where  he  says, 
"  That  in  the  eleventh  month,  called 
Loos,  is  celebrated,  in  Babylon,  the 
feast  of  Sacea  for  five  days."  They 
surprised  the  guards  at  the  palace-gates, 
cut  them  off,  and  rushed  into  the  midst 
of  the  previously  agitated  court,  just  as 
they  had  heard  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Hebrew  seer  the  alarming  exposition  : — 
"  Peres,  thy  kingdom  is  divided,  and 
given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians ;  for  in 
that  night  was  Belshazzar,  the  King  of 
the  Chaldeans,  slain,  and  Darius,  the 
Median,  took  the  kingdom,  being  about 
three  score  and  two  years  old." 

Thus  did  Daniel  live  to  see  the  head 
of  gold  brought  to  the  dust,  after  a  lapse 
of  sixty-seven  years  from  the  date  of 
his  first  prophetic  exposition  of  the 
king's  dream  ;  and  nobly  did  he  sustain 
the  dignity  of  a  man  of  God  in  the  face 
of  this  splendid  retinue.  His  religion 
had  doubtless  prevented  him  from  being 
one  of  the  revellers ;  and  when  he  was 
officially  called  upon,  we  see  not  the 
fulsome,  hoary-headed  court-flatterer, 
but  the  dignified  reprover  of  corrupt 
power.  Having  recounted  briefly  the 
solemn  monitions  that  had  been  given 
to  the  grandfather  of  the  present  mo- 
narch, "  till  he  knew  that  the  most  High 
God  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and 
that  he  appointeth  over  it  whomsoever 
he  will,"  he  proceeds,  and  brings  home 
to  him  the  startling  truth,  "  And  thou, 
his  son,  O  Belshazzar,  hast  not  humbled 
thine  heart,  though  thou  k newest  all 
this  ;  but  hast  lifted  thyself  against  the 
Lord  of  heaven,  and  they  have  brought 


the  vessels  of  his  house  before  thee,  and 
thou,  and  thy  lords,  thy  wives,  and  thy 
concubines,  have  drunk  wine  in  them; 
and  thou  hast  praised  the  gods  of  silver 
and  gold,  of  brass,  iron,  wood,  and 
stone,  which  see  not,  nor  hear,  nor 
know  ;  and  the  God  in  whose  hands 
thy  breath  is,  and  whose  are  all  thy 
ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified." 

In  conclusion,  let  us  notice  again,  that 
civil  rulers  are  responsible  to  God,  for 
all  their  proceedings.  From  him  is  their 
power ;  "  the  kingdoms  over  men  he 
giveth  to  whomsoever  he  will."  Nor 
let  it  be  supposed  that  this  is  less  the 
case,  where  designation  to  office  is  by  a 
vote  of  the  people.  In  whatever  man- 
ner the  appointment  may  be  made,  the 
authority  to  rule  is  from  God.  "  He 
beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain  ;"  he  is 
the  minister  of  God,  and  is  bound  to  do 
his  Master's  will. 

2.  We  learn  the  doctrine  of  the  di- 
vine decrees.  There  could  be  no  pro- 
phecy, without  an  unchangeable  purpose. 
If  God  predict  anything,  he  must  either 
bring  it  to  pass,  or  falsify  his  word.  If  he 
bring  it  to  pass,  it  must  be  because  he  has 
designed,  determined,  or  decreed  so  to  do. 

3.  God's  decrees  do  not  destroy  man's 
voluntary  agency,  and  moral  accounta- 
bility. The  very  instruments  of  his  ven- 
geance, who  fulfil  his  designs,  whom  he 
uses  as  his  rod,  he  holds  responsible,  and 
punishes  for  the  very  acts  by  which  they 
accomplished  his  own  purposes.  The 
Assyrian  monarch  was  God's  instru- 
ment, yet  he  took  vengeance  on  him, 
and  thus  explains  to  us  the  philosophy 
of  it; — "Hemeaneth  not  so;"  to  honour 
God  is  not  his  object,  when  he  cruelly 
oppresses  Judah  and  Jerusalem.  It  is 
the  intention  always,  that  gives  moral 
character  to  an  action ;  consequently, 
the  King's  design  being,  not  to  glorify 
God,  by  fulfilling  his  decree,  but  to  ag- 
grandize himself,  and  gratify  his  unholy 
ambition,  he  is  condemned  at  the  divine 
tribunal,  and  punished  accordingly. 

4.  Wine  and  revellings  have  lost 
many  an  empire,  dethroned  many  a 
monarch,  extinguished  many  a  dynasty. 
"  It  is  not  for  kings,  O  Samuel,  it  is  not 
for  kings  to  drink  wine,  nor  for  princes. 


LECTURE  IV. 


strong  drink,  lest  they  drink,  and  forget 
the  law." 

5.  Sooner  or  later,  the  God  of  heaven 
will  display  his  wrath  in  the  punishment 
of  ir religion,  and  idolatry  ;  and  this  pun- 
ishment, when  the  crimes  pervade  a  com- 
munity, will  fall  upon  the  mass,  and  all 
will  feel  it  ;  it  is  therefore  not  a  matter 
of  indifference  to  me,  "  whether  my 
neighbour  worships  one  God,  twenty 
gods,  or  no  god  at  all."  It  involves 
me,  as  a  part  of  the  social  body  in  the 
common  calamity. 

How  sudden  and  awful  are,  sometimes, 
the  mutations  of  human  condition  !  One 
hour,  Belshazzar  exults  in  all  that  is 
gorgeous  and  exhilarating, — the  next,  he 
lies  a  ghastly  corpse,  weltering  in  his 
own  blood :  one  moment,  in  the  very 
heaven  of  sensual  delights, — the  next, 
thrust  down  to  hell  :  a  sovereign  without 
limitation  of  power, — a  trembling  wretch 
at  the  bar  of  that  God  whom  he  despised, 
— a  victim  writhing  in  the  agonies  of 
eternal  torment ! 

If  Belshazzar's  heart  trembled,  and 
his  knees  smote  together  at  the  sight  of 
a  "  man's  hand,"  how  was  it  with  him 
when,  not  a  part,  but  the  whole,  not  of 
one  only,  but  of  many  armed  men  burst 
in  upon  him?  If  the  word  of  reproof 
can  cause  the  soul  thus  to  quake,  what 
must  be  the  reality  of  God's  wrath, 
when  it  descends  upon  the  affrighted 
spirit?  See  to  it,  then,  that  thou  glorify 
Him  "  in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and 
whose  are  all  thy  ways  !" 


LECTURE  IV. 

THE  VISION  OF  THE  FOUR  BEASTS  OF 
THE  SEA. 

THE  FIRST  THREE. 

"  In  the  first  year  of  Belshazzar  king  of  Ba- 
bylon, Daniel  had  a  dream,  and  visions  of  his 
head  upon  his  bed  :  then  he  wrote  the  dream, 
and  told  the  sum  of  the  matters. 

"  Daniel  spake  and  said,  I  saw  in  my  vision 
by  night,  and,  behold,  the  four  winds  of  the 
heaven  strove  upon  the  great  sea. 

"  And  four  great  beasts  came  up  from  the  sea, 
diverse  one  from  another. 


"The  first  was  like  a  lion,  and  had  eagle's 
wings :  I  beheld  till  the  wings  thereof  were 
plucked,  and  it  was  lii'ted  up  from  the  earth, 
and  made  to  stand  upon  the  feet  as  a  man,  and 
a  man's  heart  was  given  to  it. 

"And  behold,  another  beast,  a  second,  like  to 
a  bear,  and  it  raised  up  itself  on  one  side,  and 
it  had  three  ribs  in  the  mouth  of  it  between  the 
teeth  of  it :  and  they  said  thus  unto  it,  Arise, 
devour  much  flesh. 

"After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  another,  like  a 
leopard,  which  had  upon  the  back  of  it  four  wings 
of  a  fowl :  the  beast  had  also  four  heads ;  and 
dominion  was  given  to  it." — Daniel  vii.  1-6. 

Prophetic  symbols,  in  order  to  be 
significant,  must  have  a  natural  adapta- 
tion to  their  subject,  and  to  the  aspect  in 
which  it  is  regarded.  If  there  be  no 
such  adaptation,  there  can  be  no  advan- 
tage from  the  symbolic  representation : 
the  aspect  in  which  it  is  contemplated 
must,  of  course,  vary  the  view  itself,  and 
the  symbol  should  vary  with  it.  There 
must  also  be  a  change  of  the  symbol,  ac- 
cording to  the  varying  character  of  those 
to  whom  it  is  presented.  What  might 
be  a  very  significant  representation  to 
one  person,  might  be  very  ill-qualified  to 
impress  the  mind  of  another.  Poetic 
imagery  must  adapt  itself  to  the  taste  and 
genius  of  the  people  upon  whom  it  is  to 
operate.  That  which  may  be  attractive 
and  instructive  to  one,  may  be  dull  and 
vapid  to  another ;  yea,  even  positively 
disgusting.  To  the  man  of  the  world, 
worldly  excellence  and  beauty  will  prove 
alluring,  whilst  to  one  who  is  not  of  this 
world,  it  will  have  no  beauty,  and  over 
him  can  exert  no  influence.  What  to 
the  latter  appears  a  plant  of  renown,  a 
tree  of  life,  "  whose  leaves  are  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations  ;"  to  the  former  is 
"  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  having  no 
form  or  comeliness."  To  the  victorious 
general  and  monarch  of  unlimited  em- 
pire a  splendid  and  gigantic  image,  of 
the  most  costly  materials,  is  a  pleasing 
representation  of  arbitrary  power :  but 
to  the  ardent  lover  and  devoted  friend  of 
an  insulted,  trodden  down  and  bleeding 
church,  the  very  same  power  is  much 
more  suitably  exhibited  under  the  figure 
of  a  ferocious  beast  of  prey.  Accord- 
ingly, Avhen  the  Spirit  of  inspiration 
would  instruct  his  church  in  the  true 
nature  of  despotic   government,   Daniel 


33 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


"  has  a  dream  and  visions  of  his  head 
upon  his  bed,"  which  trouble  him. 

Let  us  here  settle  the  date  of  the 
vision.  "  In  the  first  year  of  Belshaz- 
zar."  Now,  this  prince  reigned  seven- 
teen years,  and  was  slain,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  year  A.  C.  538  ;  conse- 
quently, the  vision  occurred  in  the  year 
555,  and  fifty  years  after  Daniel  had 
been  carried  into  captivity. 

The  next  thing  to  be  noticed  is  the 
source  whence  these  beasts  sprang. 
They  came  up  from  the  great  sea,  pre- 
viously agitated  by  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  The  mighty  ocean  lashed  into 
foam  by  fierce  and  tempestuous  winds, 
is  a  very  forcible  emblem  of  the  mass 
of  human  society  tossed  and  distracted 
by  passions  fell  and  fierce.  The  apos- 
tle Jude,  (verse  13)  calls  ungodly  men 
"raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out 
their  own  shame."  And  David,  (Psalm 
Ixv.  7,)  using  the  same  figure,  says  God 
"  Stilleth  the  noise  of  the  seas,  the  noise 
of  their  waves  and  the  tumult  of  the 
people."  Also  (Psalm  xciii.  3),  "  The 
floods  have  lifted  up,  O  Lord,  the  floods 
have  lifted  up  their  voice,  the  floods  lift 
up  their  waves."  Isaiah  (xviii.  12),  ex- 
claims, "  Wo  to  the  multitude  of  many 
people,  which  make  a  noise,  like  the 
noise  of  the  seas ;  and  to  the  rushing 
of  nations,  that  make  a  rushing  like  the 
rushing  of  mighty  waters.  The  nations 
shall  rush  like  the  rushing  of  many 
waters."  (Ivii.  21),  "But  the  wicked 
are  like  the  troubled  sea,  when  it  can- 
not rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and 
dirt."  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  bet- 
ter symbol  of  human  population,  agi- 
tated and  torn  by  violent  and  unbridled 
passions!  In  Rev.  vii.  four  angels  are 
represented  as  standing  upon  the  four 
corners,  or  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth,  and  holding  the  four  winds  that 
the  wind  should  not  blow  on  the  earth, 
nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on  any  tree,  till  we 
have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God  ! 
Here  is  the  counter-symbol,  the  sea-qui- 
escent— the  mass  of  human  society  in 
a  pacific  state,  and  the  work  of  grace 
triumphantly  advancing  among  them  ! 

The  four  winds  are  of  course  sym- 
bolical of  the  boisterous  passions  which 


throw  human  society  into  commotion. 
The  number  four  is  used  because  this  is 
the  common  mode  of  designating  influ- 
ences from  all  directions — north,  south, 
east  and  west ;  fierce  passions  of  all  de- 
scriptions distract  the  sea  of  human 
population,  and  out  of  the  rolling  waves 
proceed  the  monsters  of  oppression. 

"  And  four  beasts  came  up  out  of  the 
sea,  diverse  from  one  another."  The 
exposition  of  the  figure  is  in  verse  17. 
"  These  great  beasts  are  four  kings, 
which  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth." 
Here  "  the  earth"  is  the  body  or  mass 
of  men,  not  the  ground,  but  its  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  the  four  kings  are  the  same 
four  universal  monarchies,  symbolized 
in  the  golden  image.  These  monar- 
chies are  in  one  sense  a  unity  and  in 
another  diverse.  They  are  all  ferocious 
beasts  of  prey.  They  have  one  spirit 
and  one  general  character.  Arbitrary 
power,  rending  in  pieces  and  tormenting 
the  church  of  God,  characterizes  them 
all.  They  have  one  common  source 
and  one  common  tendency.  Their  ori- 
gin is  the  turbulent  ocean — the  corrupt 
agitated  body  of  men  ;  and  they  ever 
aim  at  crushing  the  interests  of  that  go- 
vernment which  is  founded  in  right,  and 
exercises  its  influence  by  moral  force. 
These  beasts  of  prey  are  all  monsters  ; 
there  is  no  one  creature  of  God  capable 
of  truly  and  fully  symbolizing  the  de- 
spotic power.  This  teaches  us  the  im- 
portant lesson,  that  absolute  monarchy 
sustained  by  compulsion  alone,  is  a  mon- 
strous production  without  and  beyond 
the  ordinary  laws  of  creation,  and  which 
never  could  exist,  but  in  violation  of 
these  laws.  Yet  these  beasts  of  prey 
are  diverse  ;  these  four  monarchies  have 
something  respectively  characteristic. 
These  several  peculiarities  are  exhibited 
under  their  appropriate  signs.  Let  us 
attend  to  them  in  order. 

Verse  4.  "  The  first  was  like  a  lion, 
and  had  eagle's  wings :  I  beheld  till  the 
wings  thereof  were  plucked,  and  it  was 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  made  to 
stand  upon  the  feet  as  a  man,  and  a 
man's  heart  was  given  to  it." 

Here  are  presented  several  traits  in 
the  character,  and  items  in  the  history 


LECTURE  IV. 


39 


of  the  Assyrio-Babylonian  empire.  Je- 
remiah (iv.  6,  7),  speaking  of  the  coming 
calamities,  says,  "  I  will  bring  evil  from 
the  north,  and  a  great  destruction.  The 
lion  is  come  up  from  his  thicket,  and  the 
destroyer  of  the  Gentiles  is  on  his  way  ; 
he  is  gone  forth  from  his  place  to  make 
thy  land  desolate."  And  in  xxv.  9,  he 
tells  us  from  the  Lord,  that  he  will 
bring  Nebuchadnezzar  his  servant,  and 
all  the  families  of  the  north  "  against 
this  land."  Verse  38,  "  He  hath  for- 
saken his  covert  as  a  lion."  This  king 
is  also  compared  to  an  eagle,  (Jer.  xlviii. 
40) :  "  Behold  he  shall  fly  as  an  eagle 
and  shall  spread  his  wings  over  Moab." 
And  the  great  eagle  of  Ezekiel  (xvii.  3), 
"  with  great  wings,"  we  learn  in  verse 
12,  is  the  king  of  Babylon.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  as  to  the  application  of  the 
symbol.     Let  us  note  : 

1.  The  lion  is  bold  and  fearless :  so 
the  first  daring  enterprise,  as  to  govern- 
ment over  man,  was  set  on  foot  by  the 
founder  of  this  monarchy.  The  spirit 
of  Nimrod  lived  and  breathed  in  it  for 
thirteen  centuries  :  not  always  indeed 
with  precisely  the  same  fearlessness  and 
energy  ;  for  the  lion  must  sleep  and 
take  his  rest  at  times ;  he  is  often  lan- 
guid and  indisposed  to  spring  upon  his 
prey.  Still  is  it  true  in  general  that 
daring  boldness  and  strength  to  endure, 
characterized  this  monarchy. 

2.  The  lion  is  a  lordly  animal,  proud 
in  the  consciousness  of.  his  power,  and 
lofty  in  the  manifestation  of  it :  and 
Babylon  is  the  haughtiest  and  most  ma- 
jestic of  all  the  kingdoms. 

3.  The  lion  is  intelligent, — there  is 
dignity  and  nobleness  of  expression  in 
his  countenance  :  and  the  first  empire 
was  the  cradle  of  the  arts  ;  the  nursery 
of  the  sciences.  Our  own  times  profit 
by  her  relics,  and  it  is  possible  that  we 
have  not  yet  recovered  the  knowledge 
of  astronomy  which  her  philosophers 
drew  from  the  stars  and  inscribed  upon 
her- monuments. 

4.  The  lion  is  withal  a  despot :  he 
rules  the  forest  by  the  terror  of  his 
strength  ;  when  he  speaks  all  others 
must  be  silent ;  when  he  rises  up,  all 
must  bow  ;  when  he  goes  forth  all  must 


retire  before  him  : — so  the  Assyrian 
monarchy  was  a  government  of  force 
deposited  in  the  hands  and  guided  by 
the  will  o//  one.  His  volition,  right  or 
wrong,  was  law,  and  was  sustained  by 
the  sword. 

These  obvious  deductions  from  the 
figure  are  generally  admitted.  But  the 
symbol  of  the  lion  was  imperfect.  He 
is  not  active  and  rapid  in  his  movements. 
Hence  the  vision  compounds  the  figure. 
The  lion  has  wings  as  an  eagle ;  the 
king  of  birds  gives  wings  to  the  slow 
pace  of  the  king  of  beasts. 

5.  Wings  are  the  natural  emblems  of 
rapidity  of  motion.     The  figures  of  all 
languages    sanction    the    symbol.     The 
truth  taught  by  their  appendage  to  the 
lion,  is  plainly,  that  this  power  should 
spread  rapidly.     Such  is   the  historical 
fact :   such   it   was   before   the  days   of 
Daniel.     This  characteristic,  so  far  as 
the  early  periods  are  concerned,  is  matter 
rather  of  inference,  than  of  express  histo- 
rical detail.     For  many  centuries  after 
Nimrod,   all   is   involved   in   fable:    we 
have  nothing  certain.     But  we  have  in 
the  cotemporary  of  Daniel  a  sample  of 
the    rapidity  of  conquest.     To-day  the 
eagle   eye   anticipates    the    rising   sun, 
darts  a  keen  glance  upon  his  prey  in  the 
valley  of  the  Indus,  and  bears  it  aloft  to 
his  eyrie  on  the  summit  of  the  Himma- 
leyahs.  To-morrow  the  vast  valley  of  the 
Nile  attracts  his  notice, — one  fell  swoop, 
and   he  lights  upon  Mount  Atlas  :  an- 
other and   he   breathes  the  pure  air  of 
the  upper  Pyrenees  :  anon  the  Alps  pass 
beneath    his   wing,  and  from    Scythian 
snows,  again  he  skims  the  sands  of  the 
Arabian  Desert.    That  is  to  say,  accord- 
ing to  Josephus  (Anti.  x.,  xi.),  Berossus 
and  Megasthenes,  the  conquests  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar  extended   from    India    to 
Iberia  or  Spain.  And  Strabo,  (see  John's 
Hebrew  Commen.  144,)  tells  us  that  he 
passed  from  Iberia  to  Pontus  and  Thrace, 
thus  compassing  the  whole   Mediterra- 
nean Sea. 

6.  It  is  probably  not  running  down  a 
metaphor,  or  pressing  the  symbol  too 
far,  to  suppose  that  the  two  modifica- 
tions of  power,  the  first  and  the  second 
Assyrian  empires,  are  alluded  to  by  the 


40 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


two  wings.     The  former  terminated  with 
Sardanapalus,  the  latter  with  Belshazzar. 

7.  The  wings  "  were  plucked,"  whilst 
Daniel  looked  on.  During  the  prophet's 
own  day,  and  while  he  was  prime  mi- 
nister in  the  empire,  its  greatest  con- 
quests were  achieved.  The  successors  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  added  nothing ;  they  did 
not  long  retain  his  acquisitions :  the  wings 
of  victory  no  longer  adhered  to  the  lion. 

8.  "  It  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
and  made  to  stand  upon  its  feet,  as  a 
man,  and  a  man's  heart  was  given  to 
it."  It  is  by  very  many  supposed,  that 
this  refers  specifically  to  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's derangement,  and  subsequent  re- 
storation to  reason  and  his  throne.  We 
think,  however,  plausible  as  this  may 
appear,  that  the  reference  is  rather  to 
the  ameliorated  state  of  society  in  gene- 
ral and  of  the  government  in  particular, 
toward  the  latter  times  of  the  empire. 
True,  we  have  evidence  of  no  little  bar- 
barity, among  the  courtiers,  to  which 
the  casting  of  Daniel  into  the  lion's  den 
may  bear  witness :  still  in  comparison 
with  former  ferocity,  there  was  beyond 
doubt  an  improvement.  The  position  of 
Daniel  and  others  of  the  same  spirit,  in 
the  city  and  empire  could  not  but  exert 
an  influence  in  favour  of  milder  govern- 
ment. He  freely  proclaimed  the  doc- 
trines of  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  Messiah  :  so  that  the  king  him- 
self was  melted  down,  and  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe,  though  it  is  not  posi- 
tively certain,  that  he  was  a  converted 
man.  Nor  could  this  ameliorating  in- 
fluence be  restrained  to  the  person  of 
the  king ;  it  must  have  pervaded  the 
mass  of  society  less  or  more.  The 
claims  of  humanity  were  not  so  utterly 
disregarded,  as  before  the  lion  was  trans- 
formed into  a  man,  with  his  face  turned 
heavenward. 

Accordingly,  the  captives  were  treated 
more  mildly.  In  the  very  first  year  of 
Evil  Merodach,  he  released  Jehoiachin 
from  prison,  and  treated  him  with  great 
kindness.  All  the  kings  seem  to  have 
mellowed  toward  effeminacy,  and  Bel- 
shazzar had  less  of  sternness  and  seve- 
rity of  character,  than  his  mother  Nito- 
cris,  who  in  fact  governed  the  empire. 


The  interpretation  of  those  who  in- 
sist that  the  beast's  being  lifted  up  from 
the  earth,  signifies  the  destruction  of 
the  beast  or  empire,  its  annihilation, 
scarcely  deserves  a  passing  notice.  He 
was  not  taken  away  from  the  earth  ; 
but  raised  up  from  the  prone  condition, 
in  which  beasts  walk  ;  and  made  to 
stand  upon  his  feet  on  the  earth. 

THE    SECOND    BEAST. 

Verse  5.  "  And,  behold,  another  beast 
a  second,  like  to  a  bear,  and  it  raised  up 
itself  on  one  side,  and  it  had  three  ribs 
in  the  mouth  of  it  between  the  teeth  of 
it,  and  they  said  thus  unto  it,  '  Arise,  de- 
vour much  flesh.'  " 

Universally  is  it  agreed  that  this  sym- 
bolizes the  Medo-Persian  monarchy.  In 
comparison  with  the  Babylonians,  the 
Medes  and  Persians  were  rough  and 
uncultivated.  Delicacy  and  refinement 
had  not  corrupted  and  enervated  them. 
Moreover,  within  their  dominion,  at  the 
time  of  the  sack  of  Babylon,  were  in- 
cluded the  Armenians  and  other  nations 
on  the  north,  still  more  rude  and  savage 
than  themselves.  The  bear  is  a  north- 
ern inhabitant :  his  locality  as  well  as 
his  rough  character  renders  him  a  suit- 
able emblem  of  a  northern  power. 

"  And  it  raised  itself  up  on  one  side." 
This  is  usually  and  correctly  applied  to 
the  fact,  that  the  chief  efficiency  in  ex- 
tending this  empire  was  from  the  Persian 
General  Cyrus,  his  subsequent  accession 
to  the  throne,  and  the  general  prevalence 
of  the  Persian  character. 

For  although  the  Medes  were  superior 
and  the  Persians  subordinate  at  the  time 
of  its  rise,  and  Cyrus  himself  served 
under  the  Median  monarch,  his  grand- 
father, and  afterwards  under  his  uncle 
Cyaxeres,  yet  it  was  his  side  of  the 
house  that  gave  success  to  the  combined 
armies.  The  marginal  reading  which, 
certainly  is  most  like  the  original,  gives 
the  same  sense  "it  raised  itself  on'one 
dominion?''  Better  still, — it,  the  beast, 
was  made  to  stand  up  for  one  princi- 
pality or  government. 

There  is  allusion  to  the  habit  which 
this  animal  has,  of  often  standing  erect 


LECTURE  IV. 


41 


in  times  of  severe  conflict  with  its 
enemies.  So  the  Medo-Persian  empire 
raised  itself  up  to  contend  for  one  com- 
bined government  over  the  nations. 

The  three  ribs  in  the  bear's  mouth, 
between  his  teeth,  some  have  thought, 
represented  the  Median,  Persian  and 
Babylonian  kingdoms.  Others  object  to 
this  with  great  propriety,  as  represent- 
ing the  animal  in  the  act  of  devouring 
himself.  But  a  bear  with  a  piece  of 
flesh  in  its  mouth  may  well  denote  a 
half-civilized  people  in  the  act  of  suc- 
cessful war,  subduing  kingdoms,  tram- 
pling underfoot  the  rights  of  man,  and 
devouring  the  substance  of  whole  na- 
tions. If  the  number  three  is  designed 
to  specify  three  kingdoms,  we  think, 
with  Bishops  Newton  and  Chandler,  and 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  that  Lydia,  Babylon, 
and  Egypt  are  the  three  principal  king- 
doms subverted  by  the  second  great 
monarchy,  and  of  course  symbolized  by 
the  three  ribs. 

The  command  "  Arise  and  devour 
much  flesh,"  is  a  commission  to  destroy, 
and  a  graphic  description  of  the  Persian 
monarchy.  It  was  certainly  not  charac- 
terized by  refinement  and  a  regard  to 
the  happiness  and  the  rights  of  man. 
Xenophon  indeed  pictures  Cyrus  as  a 
philosopher  as  well  as  conqueror.  But 
it  is  well  known  that  Xenophon  colours 
if  he  does  not  sketch  new  characters. 
It  is  impossible  to  reconcile  him  with 
other  historians.  Justin  extends  Cyrus's 
reign  to  thirty  years,  probably  counting 
from  the  time  when  he  became  an  emi- 
nent general  ;  and  makes  him  fall  in  an 
ambuscade  laid  by  Tomyris,  queen  of 
the  Scythians  ;  who  ordered  his  head  to 
be  cut  off  and  thrown  into  a  leathern 
bag,  full  of  blood,  saying,  "  Glut  thyself 
with  blood,  which  thou  thirstedst  after, 
and  with  which  thou  wast  never  to  be 
satisfied."     (Book  ix.,  viii.) 

The  brutality  of  his  son  Cambyses  is 
proverbial.  He  demanded  the  opinion  of 
his  counsellors  as  to  the  legality  of  mar- 
rying his  own  sister.  They  answered 
that  the  Persians  had  no  law  authorizing 
the  marriage  of  a  sister;  but  they  had  a 
law  empowering  their  king  to  do  as  he 
pleased.       He    married    her    therefore, 

G 


murdered  his  brother,  and  then,  in  a 
cruel  manner,  put  his  sister  and  wife  to 
death,  because  she  wept  her  brother's 
murder.  Smerdis,  the  impostor  and 
next  king,  was  assassinated.  Darius 
Hystaspes,  his  successor,  died  a  natural 
death.  His  son,  Xerxes  the  Great,  was 
assassinated  by  the  captain  of  his  guards. 
Artaxerxes  killed  his  eldest  brother, 
usurped  the  throne  and  died  a  natural 
death.  Xerxes  II.  was  destroyed  by  his 
brother  Logdianus,  who  was  smothered 
in  ashes  by  his  brother  Ochus ;  and  thus 
barbarous  cruelty  pervaded  the  govern- 
ment and  marked  its  policy  towards 
others.  Such  are  its  characteristics  as 
drawn  out  by  Isaiah  (xiii.  18) :  "  Their 
bows  also  shall  dash  the  young  men  to 
pieces,  and  they  shall  have  no  pity  on  the 
fruit  of  the  womb ;  their  eye  shall  not 
spare  children." 

THE  THIRD  BEAST. 

Verse  6.  "After  this  I  beheld,  and 
lo,  another,  like  a  leopard,  which  had  on 
the  back  of  it  four  wings  of  a  fowl ;  the 
beast  had  also  four  heads  ;  and  dominipn 
was  given  to  it." 

Such  is  the  nondescript  which  symbo- 
lizes the  Grseco-Macedonian  empire.  Let 
us  touch  upon  a  few  leading  points. 

1.  The  leopard  is  a  small  animal,  and 
the  kingdom  left  by  Philip  to  his  son 
was  small ;  as  was  the  prince  to  whom 
the  sceptre  descended. 

2.  Yet  the  leopard  is  strong  and  very 
fierce.  Alexander  was  a  man  of  great 
power  and  fiery  courage ;  both  which 
qualities  he  infused  into  his  army. 

3.  Perhaps  the  very  spots  of  the  ani- 
mal may  be  designed  to  set  forth  the 
wily  policy  of  the  Macedonian  kings. 
Philip  was  doubtless  a  greater  politician 
than  his  son,  if  we  use  the  word  politician 
in  the  common  acceptation.  A  greater 
amount  of  cunning  and  craft  is  displayed 
in  his  movements.  He  acquired  power, 
more  by  policy  perhaps,  than  by  prowess 
in  arms.  Alexander  was  however  not 
deficient  in  either. 

4.  The  leopard,  as  to  movement,  is 
among  the  most  active  animals.  Rarely 
does  he   make  a  false  spring  upon  his 


42 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


prey,  and  not  un frequently  he  shows  a 
disposition  to  dispute  the  point  of  honour, 
with  the  tawny  king  of  the  forest.  In 
like  manner  were  the  movements  of  the 
Macedonian;  quick  and  sure. 

5.  The  four  wings  are  designed  to 
set  forth  more  strongly  the  rapidity  of 
Alexander's  conquests. 

6.  The  four  heads,  in  conjunction 
with  the  wings,  intimate  the  subdivision 
of  the  empire,  after  the  death  of  its 
founder.  This  partition  accordingly 
took  place,  as  we  shall  see  more  particu- 
larly hereafter. 

7.  And  dominion  was  given  to  it. 
Alexander  himself  seems  to  have  enter- 
tained the  idea — or  if  not,  at  least  to  have 
laboured  to  give  currency  to  the  idea, 
that  he  was  appointed  of  heaven  to  sub- 
vert the  Persian  monarchy.  His  visit 
to  Jerusalem,  and  interview  with  Jaddus, 
the  high  priest,  as  related  by  Josephus, 
(Anti  11  viii.  5,)  is  a  plain  exposition  of 
this  phrase.  Alexander,  whilst  pressing 
the  siege  of  Tyre,  was  greatly  enraged 
at  Jaddus  for  refusing  to  send  him  sup- 
plies. He  marched  towards  Jerusalem, 
promising  his  army  the  plunder  of  the 
city.  But  upon  being  met  by  the  high 
priest  and  others,  arrayed  in  their  official 
robes,  and  the  high  priest  wearing  the 
mitre  with  the  name  of  Jehovah  inscribed 
on  it,  Alexander  approached  himself,  and 
adored  that  name,  and  first  saluted  the 
high  priest :  he  gave  as  the  reason,  a 
vision  which  he  had  had  before  he  left 
Greece.,  in  which  he  saw  this  very  priest, 
as  thus  dressed  out,  who  encouraged  him 
to  proceed  on  his  contemplated  expedi- 
tion, and  assured  him  of  the  divine  pro- 
tection. We  see  no  reason  to  doubt  this 
story,  so  far  as  the  procession  and  the 
declarations  of  Alexander  are  concerned. 
Nor  do  we  see  just  reason  to  believe 
that  Alexander  told  the  truth  in  his  de- 
claration of  having  seen  a  vision.  This 
doubtless  was  feigned  ;  but  what  was 
pretended  by  him,  was  really  the  divine 
purpose,  as  the  event  showed  ;  dominion 
over  man  was  given  to  him  from  that 
God  whose  kingdom  ruleth  over  all. 

The  consideration  of  the  fourth  beast 
must  be  deferred  for  the  present,  and 
will  form  the  subject  of  another  lecture. 


We  close  with  some  practical  remarks 
and  deductions. 

1.  We  repeat  for  distinct  recollection  : 
these  four  beasts  represent  one  thing — 
despotic  poiver.  Their  forms  vary,  but 
their  essential  character  is  the  same. 
This  unity  of  character  is  better  sustained 
by  the  image  in  the  former  vision.  But 
here,  though  the  symbolic  parts  need  not 
the  dissecting  knife,  yet  neither  is  it 
possible  to  lose  sight  of  this  unity.  Ty- 
ranny of  man  over  man  may  be  pre- 
sented in  different  aspects,  but  the  results 
are  one,  and  the  spirit  that  produced 
them  is  one.  What  boots  it,  whether  we 
be  crushed  to  death  by  the  head  of  gold, 
or  trodden  to  dust  by  the  feet  of  iron  ? 
Whether  we  perish  by  the  tusk  of  the 
lion,  the  paw  of  the  bear,  the  fang  of  the 
leopard,  or  the  iron  teeth  and  brazen 
claws  of  the  nameless  monster?  Does 
the  form  of  ruin  constitute  every  thing  ? 
Or  is  not  the  ruin  itself  the  main  matter? 
Let  us,  then,  look  at  the  essence  of  the 
thing.      It    is    the  domination    of  brute 

force,  operating  through  fear,  and  crush- 
ing man  to  the  dust.  This  is  what  is 
symbolized  ;  this,  as  it  is  opposed  to  the 
dominion  of  moral  law,  addressing  the 
understanding,  reaching  the  heart,  and 
bringing  the  man,  the  state,  the  nation, 
the  world,  to  bow  willing  subjects  to 
truth,  and  devout  worshippers  at  the 
shrine  of  her  divinity. 

2.  Let  us  ever  remember  that  human 
population,  thrown  into  violent  agitation 
by  the  furious  and  corrupt  passions  of 
man,  is  the  great  source  of  tyranny. 
The  four  beasts,  one  in  spirit,  end  and 
aim,  came  up  out  of  the  sea.  This  sea, 
in  a  peaceful  state,  could  not  become 
the  parent  of  such  monsters.  It  is  the 
corrupt  passions  that  gender  them.  Sin, 
in  the  various  forms  of  it,  injected  by  the 
"  prince  of  the  powers  of  the  air,"  pro- 
duces such  states  of  society  as  lead  to 
despotism.  The  barriers  of  parental  t 
government  have  their  natural  limit.  To 
this  succeeds  the  patriarchal  ;  but  this 
too  has  its  limit ;  and  beyond  this  what 
principle  can  reach?  If  all  men  were 
disposed  to  do  right,  and  would  gratify 
the  disposition,  society  might  remain 
quiescent ;  but  as  this  is  not  so  in  fact, 


LECTURE  IV. 


43 


there  is  hence  necessity  for  restraint.  It 
is  sinful  passions,  that  render  the  restric- 
tions of  government  needful  :  and  by  the 
very  nature  of  their  influences  make  that 
government,  in  the  first  instance  arbi- 
trary. It  is  obvious  that  from  such  a 
sea  nothing  could  come  forth  but  a 
monster.  The  mass  of  mankind,  thus 
agitated,  could  not  possibly  give  exist- 
ence to  a  pure  and  free  system  of  rule. 
The  "  troubled  sea"  must  "  cast  up  mire 
and  dirt."  Before  this  can  cease,  the 
agitation  must  cease ;  and  before  the 
agitation  can  cease,  there  must  be  a 
cause,  a  power  to  say  "  peace,  be  still." 
Has  ever  such  a  voice  issued  from  the 
deep  sea  of  human  corruption  ?  Exa- 
mine the  page  of  history.  What  are  its 
teachings?  Does  it  point  to  the  vast 
heavings  of  the  perturbed  ocean,  tossing 
its  foaming  billows  mountain  high,  as 
the  source  of  order  and  quiet?  Does  it 
say  that  the  agitated  mass  ever  restored 
itself  to  tranquillity,  the  cause  of  the  agi- 
tation still  continuing?  Did  ever  a  re- 
volution produced  by  such  elements  end 
in  a  free  government  ?  Of  all  the 
changes  which  the  giant  image  has  expe- 
rienced, did  ever  one  result  in  any  thing 
to  the  human  race,  but  a  change  of  mas- 
ters? 

Clearly  then,  there  must  be  a  new  ele- 
ment introduced, — a  new  principle  ;  and 
therefore  we  remark  again — 

3.  Nothing  but  that  religion  which 
came  from  heaven,  can  constitute  the 
basis  of  that  morality,  which  must  lie  at 
the  foundation  of  free  government.  No 
power  in  the  universe,  but  the  "  little 
stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands,"  can  break  in  pieces  the  image 
and  grind  him  to  powder.  No  wind, 
but  the  breath  of  God's  Spirit  can  blow 
upon  this  powder  and  dissipate  it,  until 
"  no  place  shall  be  found  for  it."  No 
theories  of  government,  that  admit  the 
doctrine  of  fundamental  moral  revolu- 
tion in  the  individual  heart,  can  ever 
permanently  secure  the  peace,  happiness 
and  freedom  of  the  whole  body.  No 
efficient  reformer  who  can  avail  to  break 
off  the  yoke  from  every  neck  and  set  the 
race  free,  will  ever  come  from  beneath. 
From   high  heaven   must   descend   the 


mighty  power,  that  shall  transform  the 
race  into  rational  society,  subject  from 
delightful  choice  to  the  laws  of  eternal 
and  heaven-born  truth.  The  preaching 
of  the  cross,  which  some  men  count 
"  foolishness,"  can  alone  avail  to  tame 
the  lion  of  human  passions,  and  place 
him  peaceful  at  the  Master's  feet.  The 
blessed  gospel  of  God's  salvation  is  the 
healing  principle, — the  "  cordon  sard- 
taire1''  that  binds  man  to  his  Maker  and 
to  his  fellow-man.  As  no  man  can  be 
made  free  in  a  moral  sense,  who  remains 
under  the  dominion  of  unclean  lusts  ;  so 
no  man  can  be  politically  free,  who  has 
not  a  knowledge  of  the  great  moral 
principles  on  which  society  is  founded. 
This  leads  us  to  remark — 

4.  The  historical  fact,  that  wherever 
any  considerable  advance  has  been  made 
towards  the  attainment  of  civil  freedom, 
there  the  Bible  and  its  doctrines  have 
less  or  more  freely  circulated.  And  on 
the  contrary,  darkness  as  to  Bible  truth, 
is  darkness  as  to  political  privileges.  So 
fully  does  this  rule  hold,  that  we  may, 
with  a  great  degree  of  certainty,  infer 
the  measure  of  rational  freedom  in  a 
nation  from  the  extent  of  the  circulation 
of  the  Scriptures  and  the  free  discussion 
of  their  doctrines  before  the  people. 
Where  are  the  dark  and  enslaved  na- 
tions ?  Where  the  Bible  is  unknown. 
Behold  Spain,  Portugal,  even  fair  Italy 
herself!  See  the  condition  of  the  body 
of  the  population  in  all  countries,  whence 
the  Inquisition  and  the  stake  have  ba- 
nished the  great  moral  enlightener  of  the 
race.  A  free  Bible,  on  the  contrary 
makes  a  free  people. 

5.  Analogous  to  this  is  the  fact,  that, 
in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  revolutionary 
struggle,  the  American  Congress,  at  the 
earnest  instigation  of  men  themselves 
hostile  to  Christianity,  as  a  religion, 
invoked  the  aid  of  the  clergy ;  who 
all  came  to  their  assistance,  except  in- 
deed a  few  in  Virginia,  where  a  religious 
establishment  at  that  time  had  much  in- 
fected the  clerical  body  with  a  cold  and 
dead  morality.  But  whilst  this  was  true 
of  one  small  locality,  the  fact  looms  in 
our  political  history,  that  the  ministers 
of    the   gospel   and   prominent   private 


44 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Christians, — the  friends  of  the  Bible  all, 
were  among  the  foremost  in  the  glorious 
ranks  of  a  nation's  defence.  The  truth 
had  made  them  free,  and  free  they  were 
determined  to  remain.  Let  us  cherish 
their  principles,  if  we  will  transmit  their 
privileges  to  coming  generations.. 


LECTURE  V. 

THE  RAM  AND  THE  HE  GOAT. 
Daniel  viii. 

The  importance  of  systematic  ar- 
rangement is  admitted  in  almost  all  de- 
partments of  human  action.  In  none  is 
it  more  useful  than  in  the  business  of 
teaching.  He  who  will  communicate 
knowledge,  and  in  the  very  act,  disci- 
pline the  mind  for  its  retention  and  use, 
and  for  farther  attainment,  must  follow 
the  natural  order  of  thought.  For  that 
there  is  a  natural  order,  is  undeniable  ; 
consequently,  he  will  succeed  best  as  a 
teacher,  who  will  lead  on  the  minds  of 
his  pupils  most  nearly  according  to  this 
order.  The  reason  is  obvious  ;  for  then 
their  minds  can  follow  with  the  least 
possible  effort. 

This  remark  is  equally  applicable  to 
the  memory  and  the  understanding. 
Such  things  as  are  related  to  us  in  a 
connected  series  we  can  easily  remem- 
ber ;  whereas  it  is  difficult  to  retain  the 
same  things,  if  presented  in  a  confused 
and  irregular  manner,  without  any  re- 
gard to  their  natural  order.  This  ex- 
plains the  reason  why  some  sermons 
are  more  difficult  to  be  remembered  than 
others.  A  little  child  can  gather  a  thou- 
sand beads  from  the  floor  in  a  moment, 
if  there  be  a  thread  passing  through  them 
and  constituting  a  bond  of  union  among 
them.  But,  if  there  be  no  bond, — no 
connexion  ;  if  they  be  scattered  around 
in  confusion,  he  will,  indeed,  proceed 
with  great  vigour  at  first,  but.  by  degrees 
he  will  weary  of  his  employment  and 
abandon  it  in  despair.  This  may  illus- 
trate the  reason  why  some,  who  hear 
much  preaching  never  become  any  wiser. 


The  preacher  sowed  beads  in  great  profu- 
sion, it  may  be,  but  they  were  not  strung. 
There  was  no  thread  in  his  discourse. 
But  for  this  omission,  the  hearer  could 
have  grasped  the  first  and  followed  on 
from  one  to  another  until  he  would  have 
told  over  the  whole  thousand.  So  also 
do  we  explain  the  philosophy  of  the  fact, 
that  many  times  the  speaker  cannot  gain 
and  keep  the  attention  of  the  hearer. 
The  natural  order  of  thought  is  not  fol- 
lowed. There  are  bones  enough  to  form 
a  skeleton,  but  they  lie,  like  those  in 
Ezekiel's  vision,  scattered  up  and  down 
in  the  open  valley.  If  the  lecturer  lacks 
the  skill  and  adroitness  necessary  to 
bring  bone  to  bone,  he  cannot  conse- 
quently teach  anatomy. 

There  is  a  skeleton  in  the  giant  image 
of  the  Babylonian  monarch,  and  unless 
we  proceed  regularly  along  from  bone 
to  bone  and  from  joint  to  joint,  we  shall 
presently  find  ourselves  in  Ezekiel's 
valley.  There  is  a  thread  in  the  Scrip- 
ture prophecies,  which,  if  we  seize  and 
firmly  retain, -we  may  hope  to  follow 
down  from  Daniel  to  the  time  when  he 
"  shall  stand  in  his  lot  at  the  end  of  the 
days."  Detached  prophecies  there  are, 
but  a  system  there  also  is :  and  if  we 
keep  the  clue  and  pursue  it,  we  shall 
understand  and  remember  many  things, 
which  we  cannot  understand  and  of 
course  cannot  remember,  without  the  aid 
of  this  regular  order. 

The  giant  image  is  our  general  plat- 
form. The  four  beasts  represent  the 
same.  We  have  glanced  at  the  image 
from  head  to  foot.  We  have  described, 
with  necessary  brevity,  the  lion,  the 
bear  and  the  leopard.  Let  us  finish  as 
we  proceed.  Let  us  adhere,  as  nearly 
as  the  case  will  permit,  to  the  chronolo- 
gical order  of  the  prophecies.  As  we 
descend  the  stream  of  time,  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  that  bears  us  along,  neces- 
sarily comes  into  connexion  and  collision 
with  a  greater  number  of  the  increasing 
craft  which  float  upon  its  surface.  There 
is  therefore  need  of  more  circumspec- 
tion. Observation  and  detail  must  in- 
crease. What  was  to  have  been  ex- 
pected is  realized.  Daniel  enters  more 
into  particulars  with  the  silver  breast  and 


LECTURE  V. 


45 


arms, — the  boar,  than  with  the  golden 
head,  or  the  lion :  he  speaks  more  mi- 
nutely of  the  brazen  belly  and  thighs, — 
the  leopard  :  and  still  more  in  reference 
to  the  iron  legs, — the  fierce  iron-toothed 
and  brazen-clawed  monster. 

In  the  third  year  of  Belshazzar  ;  B.  C. 
552,  the  prophet  was  at  Shushan  the 
palace.  Whether  Daniel  was  in  person 
at  Susa  before  and  at  the  time  of  the 
vision ;  or  whether  he  was  there  only 
in  his  visions,  appears  doubtful.  Com- 
mentators almost  universally  assume  it, 
that  he  was  there  in  the  body  at  the 
time ;  and  they  suppose  that  he  was  on 
business,  as  the  ambassador  of  his  prince, 
at  the  court  of  the  Persian  king.  We 
think  the  language  does  not  necessarily 
involve  that  idea.  "  And  I  saw  in  a 
vision,  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  I  saw 
that  I  was  at  Shushan ;" — that  is,  in 
vision  I  was  there — as  Ezekiel  was  in 
the  valley  of  dry  bones. 

This  city  lay  on  the  river  Ulai,  called 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  Euleus ;  a 
branch  of  the  Euphrates,  which  enters 
below  the  junction  of  Tigris,  on  the 
east.  The  distance  may  be  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  mouth,  and  the  city  must 
therefore  have  been  on  the  western  side 
of  Elam  or  Persia. 

This  vision  refers  to  the  two  middle 
sections  of  the  giant  image.  Verse  3 : 
"  Then  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes  and  saw, 
and,  behold,  there  stood  before  the  river 
a  ram  which  had  two  horns,  and  the 
two  horns  were  high ;  but  one  was 
higher  than  the  other,  and  the  higher 
came  up  last."  This,  the  angel  inter- 
prets of  the  Medo-Persian  empire  :  verse 
20,  "  The  ram  which  thou  sawest  having 
two  horns,  are  the  kings  of  Media  and 
Persia." 

The  location  of  the  scene  is  within  the 
Persian  territory ;  at  the  very  site  of  Per- 
sian power.  The  two  high  horns  are 
the  kingdoms  of  Media  and  Persia.  The 
higher  horn  which  came  up  last,  is  Persia ; 
whose  power  was  greatly  inferior  to  the 
other  until  the  days  of  Cyrus,  when  it 
shot  forth  and  overtopped  its  fellow. 

This  part  of  the  animal  is  a  very  com- 
mon symbol  of  ruling  power.  The  horn 
in  animal  economy,  is  a  weapon  of  de- 


fence and  offence.    The  horns  of  Joseph, 
(Deut.  xxxiii.   17,)   which  Moses  says, 
"  are  like  the  horns  of  unicorns ;  with 
them  he  shall  push  the  people  together 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  are  a  prophetic 
representation  of  the  great    power    his 
tribe  should  have  in  after  days.     "  The 
horn  of  David,"  (Psalm  cxxxii.,)  which 
should  bud  forth,  is  the  power  of  the  Son 
of  David,  whose  throne  is  for  ever  and 
ever.     "  All  the  horns  of  the  wicked," 
says  the  Psalmist,  (Ixxv.  10,)  "  will  I 
cut  off;  but  the  horns  of  the  righteous 
shall  be  exalted  ;"  that  is,   "  I  will  de- 
stroy the  power  of  the  wicked,  but  the 
power  of  the  righteous  will  I  establish." 
He    next  describes    the  general   pro- 
gress of  the  power  symbolized.     "  I  saw 
the  ram  pushing  westward,  and  north- 
ward, and  southward."     Here  it  will  be 
observed  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the 
east.     The  conquests  of  this  empire  lay 
west.     Accordingly  Isaiah    long  before 
had  prophesied  of  this  power  as  coming 
from  the  east,  (xlvi.    11,) — "calling  a 
ravenous  bird  from  the  east,   the   man 
that  executeth    my  counsel  from  a  far 
country."      Agreeably    to    this,    Cyrus 
and  his  successors,  from  provincial  sub- 
serviency, as  their  countries  once  were 
to    Babylon,     subdued    their    mistress, 
Syria,  Lydia  and  all  the  nations  to  the 
Egean  Sea  :  Armenia  and  all  the  north- 
ern nations,  to  the  confines  of  Scythia ; 
Arabia  in  part,  and  Egypt  to  the  cata- 
racts of  the  Nile,  and  overran  a  great 
part  of  Greece.     It  ought  perhaps  to  be 
noted,    that    the    vision     has    reference 
mainly  to  the  first  administration  under 
Cyrus ;  as  the  Goat  has  to  Alexander. 
The  first  conquest  lay  to  the  west,  north 
and  south.  Afterwards  Darius  Hystaspes 
carried  his  victories  to  central  India  on 
the  east.     The  power  is  indeed  symbo- 
lized  by  the  animals  respectively,  and 
the   general,  king   or   emperor   by  the 
horns.     The  one  horn  of  the   Goat  is 
Alexander,  the  higher  horn  of  the  Ram 
is   Cyrus.     As   to   the   latter,   we   have 
gone  sufficiently  into  the  detail.     Before 
we  do  so,  in  regard   to  the  former,  the 
order  of  time  requires  us  to  turn  to  an- 
other prophecy  whose  fulfilment  comes 
in  before  the  period  of  the  Macedonian 


46 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


invasion,  and  lays  open  the  reason 
of  it. 

Ch.  xi.  1,  2.  "Also  I,  in  the  first 
year  of  Darius  the  Mede,  even  I,  stood 
to  confirm  and  to  strengthen  him.  And 
now  will  I  show  thee  the  truth  :  Behold, 
there  shall  stand  up  yet  three  kings  in 
Persia  ;  and  the  fourth  shall  be  far  richer 
than  they  all :  and  by  his  strength 
through  his  riches  he  shall  stir  up  all 
against  the  realm  of  Grecia." 

This  is  the  language  of  the  angel  or 
man  whom  Daniel  saw,  (x.  5,)  "  clothed 
in  linen,  whose  loins  were  girded  with 
fine  gold  of  Uphaz."  This  angel  re- 
lates, (xi.  1,)  what  he  did  in  the  first 
year  of  Darius  the  Mede  ;  he  stood  "  to 
confirm  and  to  strengthen  him."  And 
this  was  no  doubt  concomitant  with 
Daniel's  own  acts  and  doings  of  the 
same  nature.  Can  any  person  believe 
that  Daniel,  knowing  the  near  approach 
of  the  time  for  restoring  captive  Judah, 
and  feeling  deeply  interested  in  the 
matter,  as  we  know  he  did  ;  and  stand- 
ing so  near  the  seat  of  power,  would 
not  make  strenuous  efforts  to  induce 
Darius  and  Cyrus  to  favour  the  Jews  ? 
Is  it  supposable  that  with  the  royal  seal 
in  his  hand  he  would  not  burn  with  in- 
tense desire  to  impress  it  upon  a  decree 
for  the  restoration  of  the  preserved  of 
Israel  ?  And  among  the  arguments  he 
would  use,  can  it  be  imagined  that  he 
would  never  think  of  directing  the  eye 
of  Darius  and  Cyrus  to  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  whenever  the  latter  is  called  by 
name  an  hundred  years  before  he  was 
born?  None  of  these  things  are  sup- 
posable ;  but  all  that  Josephus  says, 
(Anti.  xi.  1,)  is  quite  probable.  "And 
these  things  God  did  afford  them  ;  for 
he  stirred  up  the  mind  of  Cyrus,  and 
made  him  write  thus  through  all  Asia. 
'  Thus  saith  Cyrus  the  king,  since  God 
Almighty  hath  appointed  me  to  be  king 
of  the  habitable  earth,  I  believe  that  he 
is  that  God  which  the  nation  of  the 
Israelites  worship,  for  indeed  he  foretold 
my  name  by  the  prophets,  and  that  I 
should  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem, 
in  the  country  of  Judea.'  " 

This  was  known  to  Cyrus  by  his 
reading  the  book  which  Isaiah  left  be- 


hind him  of  his  prophecies ;  for  this 
prophet  said  that  God  hath  spoken  thus 
to  him  in  a  secret  vision,  "  My  will  is, 
that  Cyrus,  whom  I  have  appointed  to 
be  king  over  many  and  great  nations, 
send  back  my  people  to  their  own  land, 
and  build  my  temple."  This  was  fore- 
told by  Isaiah  one  hundred  and  forty 
years  before  the  temple  was  demolished. 
What  Daniel,  according  to  Josephus, 
did  by  external  and  visible  agency,  to- 
ward encouraging  Darius  and  Cyrus,  the 
angel  declares  he  did  also  by  internal 
and  unconscious  influences.  The  date 
of  the  declaration  is,  "the  third  year  of 
Cyrus," — five  years  after  the  sack  of 
Babylon,  B.  C.  533.  Cyrus,  therefore, 
is  not  one  of  the  three  kings,  "  who 
shall  stand  up  yet  in  Persia."  If  the 
date  of  the  present  scene  (xi.  2)  were  in 
the  first  year  of  Darius,  then  Cyrus, 
coming  after,  would  be  one  of  the  three, 
and  the  fourth  would  be  Darius  Hys- 
taspes.  But  this  phraseology,  uttered 
in  the  third  year  of  Cyrus,  throws  the 
great  warlike  movement  upon  Xerxes 
the  Great.  Cyrus  reigned  sole  monarch 
seven  years ;  Cambyses,  his  son,  seven 
years  and  four  months;  Smerdis  Magus, 
the  usurper,  seven  months  ;  and  Darius 
Hystaspes  thirty-six  years ;  who  was 
followed  by  his  son  Xerxes  the  Great. 
Now,  should  Smerdis  be  accounted  a 
king,  "  the  stirring  up  of  all  against  the 
realm  of  Grecia,"  must  be  fulfilled  by 
Darius  Hystaspes.  But  every  child  has 
read  of  Marathon,  a  plain  ten  miles 
from  Athens,  upon  which  Darius  had 
poured  his  legions,  victorious  from  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges  to  the  banks  of  the 
Danube.  The  numbers  of  the  Persian 
army  are  very  variously  given,  from  a 
hundred  thousand  foot  and  ten  thousand 
horse,  to  six  hundred  thousand.  This 
last  is  Justin's  statement  (book  ii.  ix.) 
Against  this  vast  host  went  forth  ten 
thousand  Athenians  and  one  thousand 
Plateaus.  The  result  is  known ;  for 
the  glory  of  the  achievement  shines 
with  such  resplendent  lustre,  as  to  daz- 
zle the  eye,  whilst  it  fixes  the  gaze  of 
all  the  earth.  Around  Marathon  and 
Miltiades  and  his  eleven  thousand 
Greeks,  the  splendour  of  the  action  has 


LECTURE  V. 


47 


thrown  a  halo  of  glory  whose  brilliancy 
the  lapse  of  twenty-three  centuries  has 
not  begun  to  dim.  And  yet — shame  to 
Athens  !  shame  to  human  nature  ! — the 
hero  of  Marathon  died  a  beggar  in  pri- 
son, whither  he  was  cast  by  a  vote  of 
the  very  people  whom  his  sword  had 
made  free ;  and  his  lifeless^  body  was 
purchased  for  burial  by  his  noble  son. 
who  paid  the  fine  which  his  unrighteous 
countrymen  had  imposed  upon  him. 

But  Ptolemy's  canon  and  others  omit 
Smerdis  altogether  from  the  list  of  Per- 
sian kings,  because  he  was  a  mere  up- 
start pretender,  and  was  cut  off  in  seven 
months.  This  omission  will  of  course 
make  Xerxes,  the  son  of  Darius,  the 
fourth  king  who  shall  "  stir  up  all 
against  the  realm  of  Grecia."  Accord- 
ingly history  tells  us  of  the  great  pre- 
parations of  Darius  for  a  second  inva- 
sion of  Greece,  and  that  when  they 
were  advanced,  he  died.  Xerxes,  his 
successor,  continued  the  preparations, 
and  set  forward  with  immense  armies 
variously  estimated  at  from  two  to  five 
millions.     Vast  concourse ! 

"Whose  rear  lay  wrapt  in  night,  while  break- 
ing dawn 
Roused  the  broad  front " 

But  not  content  with  pouring  upon 
Greece  these  mighty  legions,  swept 
from  the  Indus  to  the  Hellespont,  and 
those  flushed  with  recent  victory  and 
the  spoils  of  conquered  Egypt,  Xerxes 
secured  as  allies  the  Carthaginians,  who 
furnished  an  army  of  three  hundred 
thousand  men,  and  two  hundred  ships. 

How  this  immense  host  melted  away 
before  the  fires  of  Grecian  patriotism, 
let  the  schoolboy  tell ;  for  to  his  ear 
Leonidas  and  Thermopylae,  Themisto- 
cles  and  Salamis,  Aristides,  Pausanias, 
and  Platea  are  familiar  sounds.  Be  it 
ours,  to  behold  and  to  wonder  at  the 
foreknowledge  and  power  of  our  God. 
This  was  the  largest  army  ever  collect- 
ed on  our  globe,  and  the  last  which 
Persia  sent  into  Europe.  "  He  shall 
stir  up  all  against  the  realm  of  Grecia." 

We  proceed  to  the  symbolical  goat. 
The  angelic  interpreter  in  Daniel  (verse 
21)  assures  us  that  "  the  rough  goat  is 


the  King  of  Grecia,  and  the  great  horn 
that    is    between    his   eyes    is   the   first 
king."    Evidently  by  "  King  of  Grecia" 
is   not    meant   the    individual    and    the 
power  now  in  his  hands,  but  the  king- 
dom,— the  mass  of  men    successively, 
allied  together  as  one.     For  the  horn  is 
the  first  king.     The  goat  himself  is  the 
Macedonian  or  Greek  empire  ,•  not  the 
Greek  republics  associated  by  treaty  for 
the  common  defence,  but  a  new  power, 
sprung    up   indeed  from  such   alliance, 
and  comprehending  the  Grecian  states. 
But  it  is  a  new  power,  and  Alexander 
becomes  first  king,  when  he  wrests  the 
sceptre   of  Nimrod   from   the  hand  of 
Darius  Codomanus :  just  as  Darius  the 
Mede   became  the  first  king   in  a  new 
empire,    when    he    snatched    the   same 
sceptre   from    the  hand  of  Belshazzar. 
In  the  application  of  this  emblem  to  the 
Macedonian  empire,  there  is  a  universal 
agreement  among  expositors.     Calmet, 
a  Roman   Catholic  writer,  says  indeed 
that  "  the  he  goat  is  Alexander,  the  ram 
is    Darius  Codomanus,  the  last  of  the 
Persian    emperors   and    successors    of 
Cyrus.     In  the  statue  represented  in  a 
dream  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  belly  of 
brass  was  an  emblem  of  Alexander,  the 
legs   of  iron  of  his  successors."    (See 
Dictionary,  vol.  i.  p.  87.)     But  this  is 
inconsistent  with  the  angel's  interpreta- 
tion, that  the  horn  of  the  goat  is   the 
first  king :   and  it  is  inconsistent   with 
Calmet   himself,  who  says,    (vol.  ii.  p. 
271,)    "After     these     three     empires, 
which  are  those  of  the  Chaldeans,  Per- 
sians,  and  the  Greeks,  there  will  arise  a 
fourth,  denoted  by  the  legs  of  iron,  and 
which  represents  the  empire  of  the  Ro- 
mans.    Under  this  last  empire  God  will 
raise   a   new  one,    which    shall    be   of 
greater  strength,  power,  and  extent  than 
all  the  others.     This  is  that  of  the  Mes- 
siah,   represented    by   the   little    stone 
coming  from  the   mountain,   and  over- 
throwing the  statue."     With  one  excep- 
tion, we  coincide  with  this  learned  critic. 
The  exception  has  been  already  stated. 
We  maintain  that  the  kingdom  of  the 
little  stone  co-existed  with,  and  operated 
against  the  image  in  all  its  four  divi- 
sions.   Messiah's  kingdom  did  not  begin 


48 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


to  be  after  the  fourth  became  a  catholic 
monarchy.  "  The  legs  of  the  lame  are 
not  equal."  In  this  passage  it  is  rightly 
maintained  that  the  different  sections  of 
the  image,  like  the  four  beasts,  repre- 
sent, not  individual  monarchs,  but  the 
catholic  monarchies  themselves :  but  in 
the  former  passage  it  is  maintained,  that 
the  ram  and  the  goat  represent  the  indi- 
viduals. Now  which  is  correct  ?  The 
Benedictine  monk,  or  the  Abbot  of  Se- 
nones  1  Calmet  here,  or  Calmet  there? 
But  mark  the  reason  of  this  change  of 
ground.  If  the  true  interpretation  be 
held,  there  is  the  goat  emblematic  of  the 
very  same  catholic  empire  which  is 
symbolized  by  the  iron  legs  and  feet ; 
but  in  that  case  some  consequences  fol- 
low, completely  demonstrative  of  the 
identity  of  the  eleventh  kingdom  which 
springs  up  among  the  ten  toes,  with  the 
papal  power.  To  avoid  such  a  disas- 
trous consequence,  it  is  convenient  now 
to  make  the  iron  legs  the  successors  of 
Alexander,  in  the  catholic  Greek  em- 
pire. On  the  contrary,  we  hold  the 
catholic  doctor  to  his  own  interpretation, 
which  is  Daniel's  and  Gabriel's  too ; 
viz.,  that  the  four  sections  of  the  image 
and  the  four  beasts,  represent  the  four 
catholic  monarchies  that  have  existed 
during  and  since  Daniel's  day  :  they  are 
not  symbols  of  individual  kings.  And 
by  unavoidable  consequence,  the  ram 
and  the  he  goat  are  not  symbols  of  in- 
dividuals ;  but  of  the  catholic  Persian 
and  the  catholic  Greek  monarchies.  Let 
us  mark  the  movements  of  the  rough 
goat. 

1.  He  comes  from  the  west;  and 
Macedon  is  westward  of  the  position  of 
Daniel  at  the  time :  and  the  progress  of 
the  Greek  conquering  army  was  from 
west  to  east. 

2.  The  rapidity  of  his  movement — 
"  he  touched  not  the  ground."  Alexan- 
der, having  been  appointed  generalissi- 
mo of  the  Greek  armies,  destined  to 
carry  the  seat  of  war  into  the  Persian 
empire,  set  out,  B.  C.  334,  and  crossed 
the  Hellespont.  His  forces  consisted  of 
thirty-thousand  foot  and  five  thousand 
horse.  On  the  banks  of  the  Granicus, 
a  small  river  that  runs  northeasterly, 


and  empties  into  the  Propontis,  he  met 
the  first  opposition.  The  Persian  hosts, 
under  command  of  Memnon,  a  Rhodian, 
and  other  generals,  disputed  the  passage. 
There  stood  the  ram  "  before  the  river," 
and  scarcely  taking  time  to  breathe  and 
chafe  his  wrath,  the  goat  "  ran  upon 
him  in  the  fury  of  his  power."  One 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  men,  on  the 
precipitous  bank  of  a  narrow  but  deep 
stream,  stood  firm  in  Jhe  purpose  of 
cutting  off  and  destroying  the  little  band 
of  Greek  invaders,  as  they  should  rise 
from  the  channel.  But  rise  they  did,  in 
the  face  of  this  terrible  odds ;  "  and  I 
saw  him  come  close  unto  the  ram,  and 
he  was  moved  with  choler  against  him, 
and  he  smote  the  ram  and  brake  his 
two  horns."  It  was  a  fierce  and  bloody 
battle.  Twenty-two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred of  the  Persian  troops  lay  dead  upon 
the  field ;  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
Greeks.  This  battle  was  fought  on  the 
twenty-second  of  May,  B.  C.  334. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  as  illustrative 
of  the  providence  of  God,  and  expository 
of  his  prophecies,  that  the  counsels  of 
the  wise  are  frustrated,  when  his  pur- 
poses require  it.  Memnon,  the  Rhodian, 
was  the  oldest  and  the  best  general  in 
the  Persian  service;  and  at  the  council 
of  war,  before  the  battle  of  the  Grani- 
cus, he  strongly  advised  against  a  gene- 
ral engagement.  Knowing  the  furious 
courage  of  the  Greeks  at  the  opening  of 
a  campaign,  he  advised  the  devastation 
of  the  country  before  Alexander,  and 
the  protraction  of  the  conflict.  This 
counsel  was  good,  and  had  it  been  fol- 
lowed, must  have  resulted  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  Greeks.  For  Alexander 
had  but  one  month's  provisions  and  pay 
for  his  army  when  he  crossed  the  Hel- 
lespont. Again,  Memnon,  after  the  bat- 
tle, advised  Darius  to  carry  the  war 
into  Greece,  alleging  that  as  the  Lace- 
daemonians were  hostile  to  Alexander 
and  his  enterprise,  they  could  easily  be 
bought  over,  and  thus  Alexander  would 
be  compelled  to  return.  This  counsel 
Darius  took,  and  appointed  Memnon  to 
execute  his  own  plan.  Had  his  life 
been  spared,  Alexander  would  have 
been  compelled  to  abandon   his  expedi- 


LECTURE  V. 


49 


tion,  or  lose  Greece  and  Macedon.  But 
then  the  purposes  of  Heaven  would  have 
been  frustrated,  and  Daniel's  prophecies 
have  been  falsified.  Memnon  died  whilst 
prosecuting  the  siege  of  Mitylene  in  the 
island  of  Lesbos,  which  it  was  import- 
ant for  him  to  possess,  as  a  harbour  for 
his  fleet ;  and  so  the  he  goat  was  not 
turned  aside  from  his  onward  course. 

In  October  of  the  next  year  was 
fought  the  great  battle  of  Issus,  which 
resulted  in  the  complete  rout  of  the  im- 
mense army  of  Darius,  the  loss  of  all 
his  treasure,  and  the  captivity  of  his  wife 
and  mother  and  friends. 

In  the  next  year,  332,  he  took  Tyre 
after  a  siege  of  seven  months,  attended 
with  immense  labour  and  much  loss  of 
life.  This  was  part  of  his  commission 
from  God.  For  her  pride,  corruption 
and  idolatry,  he  had,  two  hundred  and 
forty  years  before  this,  sent  against 
Tyre  Nebuchadnezzar ;  who,  after  a 
siege  of  thirteen  years,  had  utterly  de- 
stroyed that  mart  of  the  nations.  But 
whilst  the  old  city  remained  a  ruin  and 
abandoned,  Tyre  revived  on  the  island 
less  than  a  mile  from  the  former  site  ; 
her  commerce  covered  the  sea,  and  her 
wealth  renewed  her  pride.  Hence  God 
promised  by  his  prophets  utterly  to  de- 
stroy her.  Ezekiel  (xxvi.)  describes 
the  first  destruction  and  the  cause  of  it. 
The  haughtiness  of  Tyrus,  and  her  ex- 
ulting over  Jerusalem  carried  captive 
in  the  beginning  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
reign,  occasioned  this  prophecy,  which 
was  fulfilled  in  all  its  terror.  Then  in 
xxvii.  he  describes  the  second  destruc- 
tion. For  he  speaks  of  the  new  city 
(verse  3),  "  thy  borders  are  in  the  midst 
of  ihe  seas ;  tn5r  builders  have  perfected 
thy  beauty."  Verse  32,  "  What  city  is 
like  Tyrus,  like  the  destroyed  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea?"  Ch.  xxviii.  2,  "I 
sit,"  says  she,  "  in  the  seat  of  God,  in 
the  midst  of  the  seas."  Verse  7,  "  Be- 
hold therefore  I  will  bring  strangers 
upon  thee,  the  terrible  of  the  nations. 
They  shall  bring  thee  down  to  the  pit, 
and  thou  shalt  die  the  death  of  them 
that  are  slain  in  the  midst  of  the  seas." 
This  sentence  was  executed  by  the  Ma- 
cedonian phalanx. 

7 


After  the  siege  of  Tyre  and  the  sub- 
jection of  Jerusalem  and  all  Palestine, 
Alexander  proceeded  to  Egypt,  which 
had  been  since  the  days  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar in  a  state  of  vassalage  to  the 
eastern  monarchs,  and  which  submitted 
to  him  gladly.  He  laid  out  and  directed 
the  construction  of  the  city  of  Alexan- 
dria. The  execution  of  his  plan  he  en- 
trusted to  Dinocrates,  the  architect  of 
the  celebrated  second  temple  of  Diana 
at  Ephesus. 

In  October  of  the  year  331,  occurred 
the  battle  of  Arbela,  a  city  lying  on  the 
east  of  the  Tigris.  Nearly  two  years 
had  passed  since  the  battle  of  Issus. 
Darius  had  made  great  and  successful 
efforts  at  collecting  forces,  for  his  army 
now  "consisted  of  at  least  six  hundred 
thousand  foot  and  forty  thousand  horse ; 
and  the  other  of  not  more  than  forty 
thousand  foot  and  seven  or  eight  thou- 
sand horse."  "  According  to  Arrian," 
says  Rollin,  "the  Persians  lost  three 
hundred  thousand  men,  Alexander  twelve 
hundred  ;"  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  for 
one,  that  is,  the  Macedonian  army  de- 
stroyed more  than  six  times  their  own 
number!  Every  man  killed  seven,  on 
an  average !  However  incredible  this 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  Persian 
army  was  completely  routed,  and  the 
sceptre  of  the  catholic  monarchy  passed 
over  to  the  brazen  nation  of  the  Greeks. 

After  this  the  rough  goat  pushed  north, 
and  Alexander  passed  the  Indus,  de- 
feated Porus,  the  Indian  king;  built 
boats  or  ships  on  that  river  and  de- 
scended it.  He  returned  to  Babylon, 
and  undertook  to  restore  it  to  its  an- 
cient splendour  as  a  centre  to  his  em- 
pire ;  became  a  devotee  to  the  intoxi- 
cating cup, — quaffed  twelve  goblets  of 
wine  at  one  debauch,  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  such  excesses,  died. 

Thus  the  conqueror  of  the  world,  be- 
fore he  had  completed  his  thirty-third 
year,  was  in  turn  conquered, — not  by 
the  immense  hosts  of  Persia, — not  by 
the  giant  Indian  monarch, — not  by  op- 
posing flood  or  mountain  barrier:  the 
juice  of  the  Babylonian  grape  accom- 
plished what  these  failed  to  do.  Sad 
and    humiliating   proof,  that    none    are 


50 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


safe  in  the  free  use  of  the  insidious 
cup. 

Rollin  closes  a  brief  statement  of  the 
extent  of  country  passed  over  by  this 
conquering  army  thus:  "Add  to  this 
the  various  turnings  in  Alexander's 
marches ;  first,  from  the  extremity  of 
Cilicia,  where  the  battle  of  Issus  was 
fought,  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon, 
in  Lybia ;  and  his  returning  thence 
from  Tyre,  a  journey  of  three  hundred 
leagues  at  least ;  and  as  much  space  at 
least  for  the  winding  of  his  route  in  dif- 
ferent places ;  we  shall  find  that  Alex- 
ander, in  less  than  eight  years,  marched 
his  army  upwards  of  seventeen  hundred 
leagues,  without  including  his  return  to 
Babylon."  (xv.  ii.) 

This  fully  justifies  the  strong  figure, 
"  he  touched  not  the  ground ;"  "  he 
flew,"  as  it  were,  "  on  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth." 

Verse  7.  "  And  there  was  no  power 
in  the  ram  to  stand  before  him  :  but  he 
cast  him  down  to  the  ground,  and  stamp- 
ed upon  him  :  and  there  was  none  that 
could  deliver  the  ram  out  of  his  hand. 
Therefore  the  he  goat  waxed  great :  and 
when  he  was  strong  the  great  horn  was 
broken  ;  and  for  it  came  up  four  nota- 
ble ones,  towards  the  four  winds  of 
heaven."  This  is  expounded  (verse 
22)  thus :  "  four  kingdoms  shall  stand 
up  out  of  the  nation,  but  not  in  his 
power." 

The  unanimous  consent  of  expositors 
and  critics,  in  applying  this  to  the  quad- 
ruple partition  of  the  empire,  has  grown 
out  of  the  palpable  plainness  of  the  case. 
No  other  construction  can  be  given. 
History  is  our  interpreter,  and  her  les- 
sons are  indubitably  certain.  After 
nineteen  years  of  distraction  and  parti- 
san wars,  amid  which  Philip  Arideus, 
according  to  Ptolemy's  canon,  a  natural 
brother  of  Alexander's,  was  nominally 
king  for  seven  years,  and  after  him 
Alexander's  son,  Alexander  -/Egus,  by 
Roxana,  for  twelve  years ;  after  which 
four  of  the  principal  officers  became 
kings  in  four  distinct  sections  of  the 
empire.  Macedonia  and  Greece  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Cassander :  Thrace  and  By- 
thinia  to  Lysimachus :  Egypt  and  con- 


tiguous parts  of  Palestine,  Arabia  and 
Lybia,  to  Ptolemy  :  and  Syria  and  all 
eastward,  to  Seleucus.  This  arrange- 
ment was  the  result  of  long  and  bloody 
conflicts,  and  an  immense  number  of 
base  assassinations:  all  fully  verifying 
the  prediction  of  Alexander,  that  there 
would  be  strange  funeral  games  exhi- 
bited after  his  death. 

On  this  point  bears  the  prophecy  (xi. 
3,  4).  After  describing,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  invasion  of  Grecia  by  Darius 
Hystaspes,  or  rather  by  Xerxes  the 
Great,  Daniel  proceeds  to  the  Macedo- 
nian. "  And  a  mighty  king  shall  stand 
up,  that  shall  rule  with  great  dominion, 
and  do  according  to  his  will.  And 
when  he  shall  stand  up,  his  kingdom 
shall  be  broken,  and  shall  be  divided 
toward  the  four  winds  of  heaven  ;  and 
not  to  his  posterity,  nor  according  to  his 
dominion  which  he  ruled ;  for  his  king- 
dom shall  be  plucked  up,  even  for  others 
besides  those."  Accordingly,  Alexan- 
der's half-brother,  his  mother,  his  wives, 
and  his  two  sons,  were  all  assassinated, 
and  no  one  of  his  blood  ever  in  truth 
swayed  his  sceptre.  It  was  "  not  to  his 
posterity." 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  ano- 
ther context,  in  prosecution  of  the  same 
subject.  In  chapter  xi.  5,  6,  the  angel 
proceeds  to  give  some  details  relative  to 
the  two  brazen  thighs  of  the  monster, — 
two  of  the  four  horns  of  the  he  goat. 
The  other  two  kingdoms  are  not  noted 
in  the  prophecy :  because  both  the 
Thracian  and  Macedonian  were  unable 
long  to  maintain  their  independence,  and 
were  soon  merged  into  that  of  Syria. 
Seleucus,  called  Nicator,  or  the  con- 
queror, because  of  his  great  generalship, 
having  fought  twenty-three  battles  and 
gained  as  many  victories,  was  the  last 
of  Alexander's  captains,  and  had,  before 
he  was  assassinated,  added  Thrace  to 
his  kingdom.  He  was  marching  to  take 
possession  of  Macedonia,  when  he  was 
put  to  death  by  Ptolemy  Ceraunus,  the 
eldest  son  of  Ptolemy  Lagus,  whom  his 
father  had  banished.  (See  Prideaux,  iii. 
46.) 

Another  reason  is,  that  the  church  of 
God  lay  within  the  kingdom  of  the  La- 


LECTURE  V. 


51 


gidsc.  but  confining  upon  the  kingdom 
of  the  Seleucida?.  Palestine  was  on  the 
Egyptian  king's  frontier,  next  to  Syria, 
and,  consequently,  was  involved  in  most 
of  the  wars  between  them.  It  should 
have  been  remarked,  that  Ptolemy  La- 
gus  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  half-bro- 
ther of  Alexander's,  by  a  wife  whom 
Philip  gave  as  a  present  to  one  Lagus, 
an  obscure  person,  shortly  before  the 
birth  of  the  boy.  Ptolemy  proved  to  be 
a  very  talented  man,  stood  high  in 
Alexander's  esteem,  and  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  him,  before  his  death,  as 
governor  of  Egypt.  He  was  a  patron 
of  literature,  and  commenced  the  fa- 
mous Alexandrian  library.  After  him 
the  Ptolemies  are  called  in  history  by 
the  name  Lagidce,  as  the  Syrian  kings 
are  known  by  that  of  Seleucidce,  from 
Seleucus.  In  this  context,  the  "  king  of 
the  south"  is  the  Egyptian,  and  the 
"  king  of  the  north"  the  Syrian.  Se- 
leucus, about  300,  B.  C,  built  the  city 
of  Antioch,  in  Syria,  as  the  seat  of  his 
empire,  and  called  it  after  his  father, 
who  had  been  one  of  Philip's  generals. 

In  the  progress  of  events,  these  rival 
nations,  exhausted  by  mutual  wounds, 
attempted  to  extinguish  the  conflicts  of 
Mars,  by  the  aid  of  Venus :  the  torch 
of  war  must  give  place  to  the  marriage 
flambeau.  "  And  in  the  end  of  years 
(verse  6),  they  shall  join  themselves  to- 
gether ;  for  the  king's  daughter  of  the 
south  shall  come  to  the  king  of  the 
north  to  make  an  agreement."  The 
very  object  of  national,  state  marriages 
is  to  secure  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  and 
hereditary  power.  But  in  this,  as  in- 
deed in  most  instances,  the  enterprise 
did  not  succeed  ;  "  but,"  adds  the  angel, 
"she  shall  not  retain  the  power  of  the 
arm ;  neither  shall  he  stand  nor  his 
arm ;" — he  will  not  remain  faithful  to 
the  marriage  contract,  as  a  means  of 
binding  political  power  ; — "  but  she 
shall  be  given  up,  and  they  that  brought 
her,  and  he  that  begat  her,  (or,  as  in  the 
margin,  ichom  she  brought  forth,)  and 
he  that  strengthened  her  in  those  times." 

This  was  all  accomplished  in  the 
reigns  of  Antiochus  Theos  and  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus.     The  sister  of  Antiochus 


had  been  married  to  Magas,  King  of 
Lybia  and  Cyrene,  and  brother  of 
Ptolemy.  Magas,  growing  old,  con- 
tracted a  marriage  between  his  daugh- 
ter Berenice  and  Ptolemy's  eldest  son. 
With  her,  the  inheritance  of  his  king- 
dom was  to  pass  over  to  his  brother 
Ptolemy.  Magas  died  before  the  con- 
summation of  the  marriage,  and  his 
widow  refused  to  carry  out  the  con- 
tract :  but  sent  for  Demetrius,  a  prince 
of  Macedon,  promising  to  him  her 
daughter,  and  with  her  the  kingdom. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  but  the  mo- 
ther was  so  pleased  with  him  that  she 
appropriated  him  to  herself.  This  so 
provoked  the  courtiers  and  officers  of 
the  army,  that  they  assassinated  him, 
and  sent  the  mother  home  to  Antiochus 
Theos,  her  brother,  and  the  daughter  to 
Ptolemy,  who  carried  out  his  marriage 
contract  entered  into  with  her  father. 
Antiochus,  enraged  at  his  sister's  treat- 
ment, made  war  upon  Ptolemy.  This 
war  is  the  very  one  to  which  the  pro- 
phecy refers.  For  after  much  loss  of 
blood  and  treasure,  both  monarchs  were 
glad  to  call  up  the  wretched  expedient 
of  a  marriage  to  put  an  end  to  it.  An- 
tiochus divorced  his  own  wife,  Laodice, 
who  was  also  his  sister,  and  by  whom 
he  already  had  two  sons,  and  married 
Berenice,  the  daughter  of  Ptolemy.  This 
negotiation  was  completed;  the  Egyp- 
tian carried  up  his  daughter  to  Seleucia, 
(in  Syria,)  where  Antiochus  met  him 
and  received  her  at  his  hands,  pledging 
to  confer  his  kingdom  on  the  male  issue 
of  this  marriage.  Thus  it  is  that  kings 
gamble  in  matrimony,  and  make  nations 
their  stakes.  (See  Univ.  Hist.  viii.  278  ; 
Prid.  hi.  112.) 

But  this  project,  as  the  prophecy 
teaches,  did  not  succeed.  "  Two  years 
after  (proceeds  the  Univ.  Hist.)  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus  died  ;  an  event  which  An- 
tiochus Theos,  his  son-in-law,  no  sooner 
understood,  than  he  removed  Berenice 
from  his  bed,  and  recalled  Laodice,  with 
her  children."  Laodice,  to  secure  a 
husband  to  herself,  and  a  crown  to  her 
son,  poisoned  the  one  and  proclaimed 
the  other  as  King  of  Syria  in  his  father's 
room.     She  also  destroyed  Berenice  and 


52 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


her  son.  This  last  murder  Justin  (book 
xxviii.)  imputes  to  Seleuous. 

Out  of  a  branch  of  her  root,  the  same 
from  which  Berenice  sprang,  arose  an- 
other king,  her  brother  Ptolemy  Ever- 
getcs,  who  was  of  course  immediately 
embroiled  in  a  war  with  Seleucus  Calli- 
nicus,  the  son  and  successor  of  An- 
tiochus,  by  Laodice.  Verse  7,  "  But 
out  of  a  branch  of  her  root,  shall  one 
stand  up  in  his  estate,  which  shall  come 
with  an  army  and  shall  enter  into  the 
fortress  of  the  king  of  the  north,  and 
shall  deal  against  him,  and  shall  pre- 
vail." And  so  did  Ptolemy  Evergetes 
to  Seleucus  Callinicus.  He  swept  over 
the  Syrian  kingdom  like  a  tornado. 
"  In  this  expedition,"  says  the  Univ. 
Hist.  (vol.  viii.  p.  281),  "  he  made  him- 
self master  of  all  the  countries  that  lie 
between  Mount  Taurus  and  the  confines 
of  India."  (See  Justin,  xxvii.  1,  and 
Prideaux,  iii.  119,  120.) — "He  brought 
back  with  him  out  of  Syria  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  pictures  and  statues, 
among  which  were  many  of  the  Egyp- 
tian idols,  which  had  been  carried  into 
Persia  by  Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus, 
when  he  conquered  Egypt.  These 
Ptolemy  restored  to  their  ancient  tem- 
ples, in  acknowledgment  for  which  fa- 
vour the  Egyptians  gave  him  the  sur- 
name of  Evergetes,  or  the  Benefactor." 

"  From  Polybius  we  learn,"  says 
Bishop  Newton,  (i.  221,)  "that  Ptolemy, 
surnamed  Evergetes,  being  greatly  in- 
censed at  the  cruel  treatment  of  his  sis- 
ter Berenice,  marched  with  an  army 
into  Syria,  and  took  the  city  of  Scleucia, 
which  was  kept  for  many  years  after- 
wards, by  the  garrisons  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt.  Thus  did  he  enter  into  the  for- 
tress of  the  king  of  the  north."  He 
also  survived  Seleucus  by  five  years,  the 
latter  dying  B.  C.  226,  and  Ptolemy,  221. 
These  things  are  referred  to  in  the  eighth 
verse:  "And  shall  also  carry  captive 
into  Egypt  their  gods,  with  their  princes 
and  their  precious  vessels  of  silver  and 
of  gold ;  and  he  shall  continue  more 
years  than  the  king  of  the  north."  This 
last  expression  was  also  fulfilled  in  a 
more  important  sense  ; — in  the  duration 
of  the  kingdoms  respectively.   For  Syria 


became  a  Roman  province,  when  An- 
tiochus  Asiaticus  was  deposed  by  Pompey 
the  Great,  B.  C.  65  :  whereas  Pompey 
himself  was  killed  on  the  Egyptian 
strand  by  order  of  Ptolemy  Dionysius, 
B.  C.  48.  and  Egypt  became  a  Roman 
province  after  the  battle  of  Actium, 
B.C.  31.  Verse  9,  "So  the  king  of 
the  south  shall  come  into  his  kingdom 
and  shall  return  into  his  own  land." 
This  is  the  whole  account  we  have  of 
Ptolemy  Evergetes.  Verse  tenth  how- 
ever, continues  the  history  :  "  But  his 
sons,"  that  is,  the  sons  of  the  king  of 
the  north,  (for  verse  eleventh  describes 
the  effect  of  this  stirring  up,  on  the  other 
party,)  "  shall  be  stirred  up,  and  shall 
assemble  a  multitude  of  great  forces  ; 
and  one  shall  certainly  come,  and  over- 
flow and  pass  through  :  then  shall  he 
return  and  be  stirred  up  even  to  his  for- 
tress." 

In  accordance  with  this,  Seleucus,  the 
son  and  successor  of  Seleucus  Callinicus, 
called  Ceraunus,  or  the  thundcrer,  (a 
piece  of  severe  irony,  for  he  was  a  very 
weak  prince,)  stirred  himself  up  ;  but 
was  soon  cut  off  by  poison,  by  two  of 
his  officers.  Antiochus  the  Great  suc- 
ceeded his  brother,  and  three  or  four 
years  after,  (B.  C.  221,)  Ptolemy  Ever- 
getes was  poisoned  by  his  son,  who  was, 
on  this  account  called  Philopater,  and 
who,  shortly  after  he  came  to  the  throne 
despatched  his  mother  in  a  similar 
manner. 

Antiochus  was  a  man  of  enterprise 
and  energy.  For  several  years  he  was 
employed  in  reducing  the  revolted  pro- 
vinces in  the  east  and  settling  the  king- 
dom. He  then  subdued  Tyre,  Ptolemais 
or  Acre,  and  Seleucia :  he  advanced 
upon  Egypt,  was  met  by  Ptolemy  Philo- 
pater, and  worsted  in  a  hard-fought  battle 
near  Gaza.  "  And  the  king  of  the  south 
shall  be  moved  with  choler,  and  shall 
come  forth  and  fight  with  him,  even  with 
the  king  of  the  north  ;  and  he  (the  king 
of  the  north,  that  is,  Antiochus,)  shall 
set  forth  a  great  multitude;  but  the  mul- 
titude shall  be  given  into  his  (the  king 
of  the  south's)  hands."  So  is  the  history. 
After  very  heavy  losses,  Antiochus  re- 
treated, and  Ptolemy,  after  an  excursion 


LECTURE  VI. 


53 


through  Palestine,  returned  to  his  de- 
baucheries at  home,  and  gained  little  or 
nothing  by  his  victory: — "he  shall  not 
be  strengthened  by  it."  "  Whilst  at 
Jerusalem  he  attempted  to  enter  the  tem- 
ple and  was  resisted  by  the  priests  and 
the  people  ;  but  forcing  his  way  in,  he 
was  terror-struck  and  fled  in  consterna- 
tion :  but  being  greatly  enraged  at  the 
Jews  for  daring  to  withstand  him,  he 
massacred  forty  thousand  of  them." 
(Justin  xxx.  1.) 

Peace  followed  between  Antiochus  and 
Ptolemy,  which  gave  the  former  the  op- 
portunity of  an  expedition  to  the  east. 
He  went  as  far  as  India  ;  reduced  Bactria 
again  to  subjection,  and  having  strength- 
ened and  re-established  his  authority,  re- 
turned after  an  absence  of  seven  years  to 
Antioch.  About  this  time  Ptolemy  Phi- 
lopater  died,  and  his  infant  son,  of  five 
years,  called  Epiphenes,  succeeded  him. 
Antiochus  renewed  the  war,  and  retook 
Palestine  and  most  of  Asia  Minor.  He 
formed  a  league  with  Philip  of  Macedon 
to  seize  Egypt  and  divide  it  between  them. 
The  provinces  generally  revolted  from 
Agathoclcs,  the  Egyptian  regent,  who 
had  charge  of  the  young  king,  and  he 
was  assassinated  at  Alexandria.  Soon 
after  this  Antiochus  beins;  engaged  in  a 

o  DO 

war  with  Attalus,  king  of  Pergamus,  the 
Alexandrians  raised  an  army,  recovered 
Palestine,  and  left  a  garrison  in  Jeru- 
salem. Next  year  Scopas,  the  Egyptian 
commander,  returned  to  Palestine.  But 
Antiochus  had  meanwhile  returned  also: 
he  met  Scopas  near  the  sources  of  the 
Jordan,  and  completely  routed  the  Egyp- 
tian army.  Scopas  retreated  to  Sidon 
with  ten  thousand  men,  where  Antiochus 
besieged  him.  Reinforcements  were 
sent  from  Alexandria  under  three  of  the 
best  generals  of  the  age  ;  but  Antiochus 
defeated  them  and  seized  Sidon.  (Prid. 
iii.  173.)  Thus  he  cast  up  a  mount  and 
took  the  city  of  munitions  :  and  the 
king  of  the  south  had  no  power  to  resist, 
neither  his  chosen  people  ;  that  is,  the 
six  thousand  Etolians  whom  Scopas 
had  hired  in  their  own  country,  and 
brought  over  to  fight  against  Antio- 
chus. 


LECTURE  VI. 

THE  SAME  SUBJECT  CONTINUED. 

THE    THIGHS  OF  BRASS THE  HE  GOAT. 

Daniel  xi. 

We  have  seen  that  Antiochus  the 
Great,  bore  down  all  opposition,  and 
"  stood  in  the  glorious  land  (verse  16) 
which  by  his  hand  shall  be  consumed." 
On  this  last  expression,  Bishop  Newton 
quotes  a  criticism  of  Grotius,  which  is 
undoubtedly  just,  though  the  bishop 
omits  to  prove  its  correctness.  For  his- 
tory does  not  inform  us  that  Antiochus 
consumed  the  land  of  Palestine,  and  the 
people  of  Jerusalem  ;  but  the  very  re- 
verse. Josephus  (Anti.  xii.  3)  tells  us 
that  he  greatly  favoured  the  Jews,— 
gave  them  materials  to  repair  the  temple, 
and  exempted  them  from  taxes.  Ex- 
actly accordant  with  this,  is  the  force  of 
the  word,  translated,  shall  be  consumed. 
It  means  really,  "  shall  be  consummated, 
— completed, finished.'1''  This  is  evident 
by  a  glance  at  1  Kings,  vi.  38,  where, 
speaking  of  the  temple,  the  same  word 
is  used.  "And  in  the  eleventh  year, 
was  the  houm  finished."  Is.  vii.  1,  and 
Jer.  viii.  20,  "  the  harvest  is  past,  the 
summer  is  ended— -finished '."  Antiochus 
went  so  far  in  consummating  and  finish- 
ing  the  Jews'  system,  as  to  appropriate 
"  for  their  sacrifices,  of  "animals  that 
were  fit  for  sacrifices,  for  wine,  oil,  and 
frankincense,  the  value  of  twenty  thou- 
sand pieces  of  silver."  (See  Josephus' 
letters  to  Ptolemy  and  Zeuxis,  two  of  his 
officers.)  A  consequence  of  this  good 
feeling  was,  that  many  Jews  entered  his 
service,  and  proved  the  best  soldiers  in 
his  army  :  these  are  referred  to,  in  the 
seventeenth  verse — "  and  upright  ones 
were  with  him." 

It  will  assist  us  in  understanding  the 
involutions  of  history,  if  we  here  point 
out  the  manner  in  which  the  Romans 
became  connected  with  eastern  politics, 
and  war. 

At  the  death  of  Ptolemy  Philopater, 
Antiochus  had  just  returned  from  his 
seven  years'  expedition  into  the  east. 
Philopater's    son,    Ptolemy    Epiphanes, 


54 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


was  but  five  years  old,  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  death  :  and  the  Alexandrians 
who  managed  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom, 
pretending  that  the  father  had  named 
the  Roman  Senate,  as  the  guardian  of 
his  son,  sent  an  embassage  to  Rome, 
and  claimed  their  assistance.  Out  of 
this  sprang  a  war;  at  least  it  gave  occa- 
sion for  the  ambition  of  Rome,  and  of 
the  king,  to  display  itself.  Preparatory 
to  this  war,  Antiochus  carried  into  execu- 
tion, a  plan  previously  laid,  to  strengthen 
himself  on  the  side  of  Egypt.  This  was 
the  marriage  of  his  own  daughter,  Cleo- 
patra, to  Ptolemy.  After  this,  he  pro- 
ceeded towards  Asia  Minor,  the  theatre 
of  the  war.  Here,  Hannibal  of  Carthage, 
who  had  been  finally  beaten  by  Scipio 
Africanus  a  few  years  before,  came  to 
Antiochus,  much  to  the  discomfort  of 
Rome.  The  Senate  sent  thither  Scipio 
Africanus,  again  to  measure  swords  with 
the  indomitable  African.  Many  islands 
and  seaports  had  already  fallen  under 
the  power  of  Antiochus,  and  he  had 
commenced  the  erection  of  a  new  city, 
on  the  Thracian  Chersonesus,  called 
Lysimachia,  which  he  designed  to  be 
the  seat  of  a  kingdom  for  his  son  Seleu- 
cus.  The  result  of  the  war  was  un- 
favourable to  Antiochus.  His  army  was 
cut  to  pieces.  "  Fifty  thousand  of  his 
troops,"  says  Justin  (book  xxxi. — xxxii.) 
"  were  slain,"  and  the  expenses  of  the 
war  were  laid  on  the  king.  Meanwhile, 
his  daughter,  whom  he  had  given  to  the 
king  of  Egypt,  threw  her  influence  along 
with  her  husband,  and  against  her  father. 
Thus  his  very  object  in  "  corrupting 
her,"  which  was  to  gain  power  in  Egypt, 
was  not  accomplished.  She  did  not 
"stand  on  his  side,  nor  was  she  for  him," 
(verse  19.)  Antiochus  found  considera- 
ble difficulty  in  raising  the  money  to 
pay  his  instalments  to  the  Romans.  He 
therefore  left  his  son  Seleucus  as  regent 
in  Syria,  and  started  on  another  eastern 
expedition.  Having  learned  that  there 
was  a  vast  treasure  in  the  temple  of 
Belus,  in  the  province  of  Elymais, 
he  proceeded  thither;  and  having  en- 
tered the  temple  by  night  to  plunder  it, 
was  attacked  by  the  infuriated  populace 
and    slain.  (Justin    xxxii.    2 ;    Prid.    iii. 


206.)  Thus  died  the  great  Antiochus, 
in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  reign, 
B.  C.  187  ;  and  thus  a  prince, — the 
Roman  power,  for  his  own  behalf, 
caused  the  reproach  offered  by  him  to 
cease,  and  "  the  king  of  the  north  stum- 
bled and  fell,  and  was  not  found." 

Verse  20.  "  Then  shall  stand  up  in 
his  estate  a  raiser  of  taxes,  in  the  glory, 
of  the  kingdom  :  but  in  a  few  days  he 
shall  be  destroyed,  neither  in  anger,  nor 
in  battle." 

This  is  Seleucus  Philopater,  son  of 
Antiochus.  By  his  father's  treaty  with 
the  Romans,  he  was  bound  to  pay  one 
thousand  talents  a  year,  for  twelve 
years ;  in  the  last  year  of  which  he 
died.  He  was  a  "  raiser  of  taxes"  all 
his  days,  to  buy  peace  with  the  Romans. 
For  this  end,  he  sent  his  treasurer,  He- 
liodorus,  on  one  occasion,  to  plunder  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem.  This  officer,  de- 
spite all  the  remonstrances  of  the  high 
priest  and  others,  entered  the  temple, 
"  and,"  says  the  historian,  (2  Macca- 
bees, iii.  27,  29,)  "  Heliodorus  fell  sud- 
denly unto  the  ground,  and  was  com- 
passed with  darkness ;  but  they  that 
were  with  him  took  him  up,  and  put 
him  into  a  litter,  for  he  by  the  hand  of 
God  was  cast  down,  and  lay  speechless, 
without  all  hope  of  life."  But  it  hap- 
pened here,  as  it  frequently  does  to 
wicked  rulers,  that  he  who  will  have 
his  servants  to  do  wrong  for  him,  may 
find  them,  at  last,  doing  wrong  to  him. 
Accordingly,  this  same  Heliodorus  after- 
wards poisoned  his  master,  in  the  hope 
of  seizing  for  himself  the  kingdom. 
(Univ.  Hist.  viii.  193.)  Thus  perished 
Seleucus  Philopater,  the  "  raiser  of 
taxes, — neither  in  anger  nor  in  battle." 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  go  some- 
what more  into  detail  here.  When  An- 
tiochus the  Great  was  compelled  to  make 
a  disadvantageous  peace  with  the  Ro- 
mans, under  Scipio,  who,  from  this  was 
surnamed  Asiaticus,  he  delivered  his 
son,  Antiochus,  to  the  Romans  as  a 
hostage.  After  a  number  of  years,  Se- 
leucus, his  brother,  proposed  in  ex- 
change for  Antiochus  his  own  son,  De- 
metrius :  the  Senate  consented  to  the 
exchange  :  Demetrius  was,  accordingly, 


LECTURE  VI. 


55 


on  his  way  to  Rome,  whilst  his  uncle 
was  proceeding  to  Antioch.  It  was 
this  conjuncture  that  Heliodorus  seized 
to  poison  the  king,  when  both  those 
were  absent  who  might  lay  claim  to  the 
crown.  Antiochus  received  intelligence 
of  his  brother's  death,  and  also  of  the 
combination  of  the  King  of  Egypt  with 
Heliodorus,  to  exclude  both  himself  and 
Seleucus  from  the  Syrian  throne.  He 
of  course  did  not  hasten  directly  to 
Antioch,  where  the  usurper  held  the 
sway  ;  but  applied  to  Eumenes,  King  of 
Pergamus,  and  his  brother  Attalus,  and 
persuaded  them  to  assist  him.  These 
princes,  greatly  apprehensive  of  the 
growth  of  the  Roman  power,  consented; 
and  the  result  was,  that  Antiochus  was 
established  in  the  kingdom.  He  assumed 
the  name  of  Epiphanes,  that  is,  the  il- 
lustrious; an  epithet  most  severely  ironi- 
cal, for  no  baser  monarch  ever  disgraced 
a  throne.  Nevertheless,  after  expelling 
Heliodorus,  he  took  vengeance  on  the 
King  of  Egypt,  and  Ptolemy  Epiphanes, 
his  nephew,  fell  into  his  hands,  with  all 
Egypt,  except  the  city  of  Alexandria. 
(See  Univ.  Hist.  viii.  199,  and  Prid.  iii. 
213.) 

With  the  arms  of  a  flood  (verse  22) 
he  thus  overflowed  the  valley  of  the 
Nile,  and  bare  down  the  opposition. 
This  was  B.  C.  170. 

"  The  prince  of  the  covenant,"  (verse 
22)  is  Onias,  the  high  priest  of  the 
Jews,  a  man  of  excellent  character, 
whom  Epiphanes  deposed  from  his  of- 
fice, which  he  gave  to  Jason,  the  young- 
er brother  of  the  high  priest,  who  paid 
him  for  it  and  its  perquisites,  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  talents.  (See  2  Mace,  iv.) 
This  league  and  contract  he  soon  after 
set  aside,  and  sold  the  office  to  Mena- 
laus,  another  brother,  investing  him 
with  it  by  an  armed  force.  Thus  "  he 
worked  deceitfully." 

The  latter  part  of  verse  23,  is  thought 
to  have  a  retrospective  application,  that 
is,  to  refer  to  the  earlier  part  of  his 
reign,  and  the  manner  of  his  accession. 
"  And  he  shall  come  up,  and  shall  be- 
come strong  with  a  small  people." 
Verse  24  describes  his  easy  access  to 
wealth,  and   his   extravagant   mode   of 


spending  it.  The  latter  part  of  this 
verse  alludes  to  his  planning  another 
Egyptian  campaign,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  place  Ptolemy  Philopater,  his 
nephew,  whom  he  held  as  a  prisoner, 
upon  the  throne  ;  for  the  Alexandrians 
had  proclaimed  his  brother  Ptolemy 
Physcon  as  king.  These  are  the  mat- 
ters referred  to  in  verses  25-28.  The 
Egyptian  armies  were  every  where  de- 
feated, or  rather  fled.  From  Memphis 
the  Syrian  marched  to  Alexandria,  and 
laid  siege  to  it.  Verse  26,  refers  to  the 
treacherous  dealings  of  Eulceus  and 
Ptolemy  Macron,  two  of  the  Egyptian 
generals,  by  whose  default, »their  king 
first  came  into  the  power  of  the  Syrian. 
The  object  of  Epiphanes  seems  to  have 
been  to  foment  a  war  between  the  two 
brothers,  that  Egypt,  being  exhausted, 
might,  with  its  commercial  city,  Alexan- 
dria, fall  an  easy  prey  to  himself.  For 
this  purpose,  he  released  Ptolemy  Philo- 
pater, his  nephew,  and  upon  the  urgent 
request  of  the  ambassadors  of  all  the 
foreign  powers,  withdrew  from  Egypt, 
giving  up  all  his  conquests  except  Pe- 
lusium,  a  city  on  the  east  branch  of  the 
Nile,  which  would  enable  him,  at  plea- 
sure, to  return.  His  hope,  no  doubt, 
based  upon  promises  exacted  from  his 
nephew,  while  a  prisoner,  was  to  turn 
all  things  to  his  own  advantage.  In 
this  the  Syrian  king  was  disappointed  ; 
for  the  two  brothers,  perceiving  the  poli- 
cy of  their  uncle,  agreed  to  reign  jointly, 
and  exert  themselves  for  the  good  of 
their  kingdom.  Enraged  at  this,  An- 
tiochus determined  to  invade  Egypt 
once  more.  Meanwhile  the  governor 
of  Cyprus  revolted  from  Egypt,  and  put 
that  island,  together  with  much  shipping, 
into  the  hands  of  Antiochus. 

The  next  spring,  B.  C.  168,  he  took 
the  field,  and  despite  the  remonstrances 
of  his  nephews,  proceeded  against 
Egypt,  evidently  determined  to  make  it 
his  own.  He  passed  Pelusium,  and  re- 
duced the  whole  land  as  far  as  Mem- 
phis ;  and  was  about  to  open  the  siege 
of  Alexandria,  when  he  was  met  by  a 
delegation  from  the  Roman  Senate.  Cai 
the  twenty-second  of  June,  the  Roman 
army,  under  command  of  Paulus  Emi- 


56 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


lius,  had  utterly  routed  Perseus,  King  of 
Macedonia,  and  added  that  kingdom,  as 
a  province,  to  the  Roman  empire.  The 
terror  of  the  Roman  name,  therefore, 
became  overpowering.  Hence  the  Egyp- 
tian kings  sent  ambassadors  to  the  Se- 
nate, and  intreated  their  interference  to 
save  them  from  the  arms  of  the  Syrian 
monarch.  This  request  found  the  Se- 
nate in  the  proper  humour;  a  delegation 
of  three  was  therefore  sent,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Marcus  Popilius  Lenas,  a 
man  with  whom  Antiochus  had  formed 
an  intimate  acquaintance,  when  he  was 
a  hostage  at  Rome.  "  The  ambassa- 
dors," says  the  Universal  History,  (vol. 
viii.  204,)  "  found  him  at  Eleusina,  a 
village  but  four  miles  distant  from  Alex- 
andria. As  the  king  had  contracted 
great  intimacy  with  Popilius,  while  he 
was  a  hostage  at  Rome,  he  offered  him 
his  hand,  which  was  an  uncommon 
mark  of  familiarity  and  distinction  from 
so  great  a  prince.  But  Popilius,  de- 
clining this  advance,  told  him  that  the 
public  interest  of  his  country  must  take 
place  of  private  friendship,  and  that  he 
would  not  join  hands  with  him  till  he 
had  first  read  to  him  the  decree  of  the 
Senate.  '  I  shall  judge,'  said  he  '  by 
your  submission  or  refusal,  whether  you 
ought  to  be  treated  as  a  friend  or  an 
enemy.  If  you  obey,  I  shall  receive  all 
marks  of  friendship  with  joy.'  These 
words  were  very  shocking  to  a  victori- 
ous and  powerful  king,  at  the  head  of  a 
numerous  army.  However,  Antiochus 
took  the  decree  which  Popilius  offered 
him,  and  having  read  it,  told  him  he 
would  advise  with  his  council,  and  re- 
turn him  an  answer  in  a  short  time. 
But  the  proud  republican,  insisting  on 
an  immediate  answer,  drew  a  circle 
around  him  with  a  rod  which  he  held  in 
his  hand,  and  raising  his  voice,  '  You 
shall  not  go  out  of  this  circle,'  said  he, 
'  till  you  either  accept  or  reject  the  pro- 
posal I  have  made.  I  expect  you  will 
pay  me  the  respect  which  is  due  to  the 
authority  of  the  Roman  people  and 
Senate.'  The  king,  struck  with  this 
peremptory  way  of  proceeding,  hesi- 
tated a  moment,  and  then  gave  this 
answer,  which  would    better  become  a 


slave  than  a  great  king  :  '  Then  I  must 
satisfy  you,  Popilius.  I  will  do  what 
your  republic  expects  from  me.'  He  had 
no  sooner  pronounced  these  words,  than 
all  the  three  ambassadors  offered  him 
their  hands  at  once,  and  Popilius  imme- 
diately resumed  his  former  familiarity." 

Thus  "  the  ships  of  Chittim  came 
against  him :"  (verse  30,)  "  therefore 
he  shall  be  grieved,  and  return,  and 
have  indignation  against  the  holy  cove- 
nant :  and  so  shall  he  do  ;  he  shall  even 
return,  and  have  intelligence  with  them 
that  forsake  the  holy  covenant."  Having 
the  chalice  dashed  aside,  just  as  it  ap- 
proached his  impatient  lips,  and  that  by 
a  hand  which  he  was  afraid  to  resist, — 
thus  insulted,  when  he  dared  not  resent 
it,  he  turned  away  in  an  angry  mood, 
and  vented  his  spleen  upon  the  unfortu- 
nate Jews.  "  He  had  indignation  against 
the  holy  covenant."  The  occasion  is 
thus  stated  by  Josephus,  (xii.  v.  3,) 
"  King  Antiochus,  returning  out  of 
Egypt,  for  fear  of  the  Romans,  made 
an  expedition  against  the  city  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  when  he  was  there,  in  the 
hundred  and  forty-third  year  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Seleucidse,  he  took  the 
city  without  fighting,  those  of  his  own 
party  opening  the  gates  to  him.  And 
when  he  had  gotten  possession  of  Jeru- 
salem, he  slew  many  of  the  opposite 
party  ;  and  when  he  had  plundered  it 
of  a  great  deal  of  money,  he  returned 
to  Antioch." 

The  angel  proceeds  to  describe  the 
wanton  barbarity  of  the  king  on  this 
occasion.  What  led  to  this  barbarity 
was,  that  there  were  two  violent  parties 
formed,  the  infidels  on  the  one  hand, 
and  those  who  held  to  the  doctrines  of 
scripture  on  the  other.  The  excesses  of 
the  former  often  drew  the  latter  too  into 
improper  measures.  At  one  time,  the 
Maccabee  party,  as  the  friends  of  good 
order  might  be  called,  gained  the  king's 
confidence  and  good  offices ;  at  times 
also,  the  infidel  party  were  successful, 
as  on  this  occasion,  and  led  the  king, 
according  to  his  present  humour,  into 
great  excesses ;  he  plundered,  he  de- 
stroyed houses,  he  murdered  people,  he 
carried  ten  thousand  into  bondage." 


LECTURE  VI. 


57 


It  has  been  greatly  controverted  among 
critics  and  expositors,  whether  the  next 
five  verses,  31-35,  refer  to  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  or  not.  Many  sound  critics, 
both  papal  and  protestant,  affirm  that 
they  do,  whilst  many  deny  it.  Among 
the  former  are  found  Calmet,  and  pro- 
bably the  Romanists  in  general,  Gill, 
Henry,  Scott,  and  Poole :  among  the 
latter,  Bishop  Newton,  Mr.  Mede,  and 
Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

Now  it  is  obvious  at  a  glance,  that  the 
context  is  most  naturally  applied  to  the 
same  power  of  which  the  angel  speaks, 
in  the  verses  immediately  preceding. 
There  is  no  intimation  of  a  change  of 
subject ;  and  if  the  matter  do  not  require 
the  interpreter  to  change,  he  has  no  right 
to  do  so.  Let  us  see,  then,  how  the  mat- 
ter tallies  with  history. 

Verse  31.  "And  arms  shall  stand  on 
his  part,  and  they  shall  pollute  the  sanc- 
tuary of  strength,  and  shall  take  away 
the  daily  sacrifice,  and  they  shall  place 
the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate." 

As  already  hinted,  Antiochus  came  up 
in  great  wrath,  from  Egypt,  after  the 
peremptory  treatment  of  the  Roman  am- 
bassadors ;  and  the  occasion  of  his  fall- 
ing upon  the  Jews,  is  stated  in  2  Mac.  v. 
Jason  having  become  odious,  was  ex- 
pelled by  the  people,  and  fled  to  the  Am- 
monites, and  then  to  the  Lacedemonians. 
The  king  heard  of  these  things,  and 
supposed  that  there  was  a  general  re- 
volt, or  chose  to  think  so;  "whereupon 
removing  out  of  Egypt,  in  a  furious 
mind,  he  took  the  city  by  force  of  arms, 
and  commanded  liis  men  of  war  not  to 
spare  such  as  they  met,  and  to  slay  such 
as  went  up  upon  the  houses."  (Verses 
11,  12.)  "And  there  were  destroyed 
within  the  space  of  three  whole  days, 
fourscore  thousand,  whereof  forty  thou- 
sand were  slain  in  the  conflict,  and  no 
fewer  sold  than  slain."  (Verse  14.) 
"  And  to  pollute  also  the  temple,  in 
Jerusalem,  and  to  call  it  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Olympius."  (v.  1,  2.)  "  For  the 
temple  was  filled  with  riot  and  revelling, 
by  the  Gentiles,  who.  dallied  with  har- 
lots ;"  (verse  4,)  "  the  altar  was  also 
filled  with  profane  things,  which  the  law 
forbiddeth."     "  And  when  the  feast  of 


Bacchus  was  kept,  the  Jews  were  com- 
pelled to  go  in  procession  toBacchus,  car- 
rying ivy.  And  Antiochus  forbid  burnt 
offerings,  and  sacrifices,  and  drink  offer- 
ings in  the  temple  :  and  that  they  should 
profane  the  sabbath  and  festival  days  ; 
and  pollute  the  sanctuary  and  holy 
place :  set  up  altars,  and  groves,  and 
chapels  of  idols,  and  sacrifice  swine's 
flesh,  and  unclean  beasts."  (1  Mac.  i. 
45,  46,  47.) 

It  is  universally  admitted  that  the 
abomination  before  God,  is  idolatry. 
"  And  ye  have  seen  their  abominations, 
and  their  idols,  wood,  stone,  silver,  and 
gold  ;"  (Deut.  xxix.  17,)— "if  thou  wilt 
put  away  thy  abominations ;"  (Jer.  iv. 
1,) — "  they  have  set  their  abominations 
in  the  house  which  is  called  by  my  name, 
to  pollute  it."  (vii.  30.)  See  also  xiii. 
27,  xvi.  17  ;  Ez.  xi.  16,  21  ;  xx.  7,  8, 
30.  Idolatry  is  the  abomination  on  ac- 
count of  which  God  lays  waste  and 
desolate  the  land :  and  we  have  an 
exact  fulfilment  of  the  prediction  by  An- 
tiochus and  his  soldiers,  including  infidel 
and  apostate  Jews.  "  And  such  as  do 
wickedly  against  the  covenant,  did  he 
corrupt  with  flatteries  :  but  the  people 
that  know  their  God  shall  be  strong, 
and  do  exploits."  Whilst  many  apos- 
tate wretches  should  fall  away  from  the 
religion  of  their  fathers,  some  should 
prove  faithful  and  stand  up  for  the  right. 
Accordingly,  Matthias,  priest  of  Modin, 
and  his  five  sons  were  called  out  by 
these  abominations.  One  of  these,  Ju- 
das Maccabeus,  became  a  distinguished 
hero,  general,  and  patriot.  His  achieve- 
ments in  the  defence  of  all  that  man 
holds  dear,  will  bear  comparison  with 
the  most  devoted  and  patriotic  of  any 
age  of  the  world.  He  turned  the  stream 
of  blood,  on  many  occasions,  upon  the 
foes  of  God  and  his  country ;  and  died 
at  last,  fighting  nobly  at  the  head  of 
eight  hundred  men,  against  an  army  of 
twenty-two  thousand.  (Prid.  iii.  258, 
335 ;  Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  ii.)  His  efforts, 
and  those  of  his  compatriots  also,  in  re- 
forming religion  and  rectifying  abuses, 
were  as  conspicuous  as  his  military 
prowess  was  terrible.  "  And  they  that 
understand  among  the  people,  shall  in- 


58 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


struct  many;  yet  they  shall  fall  by  the 
sword,  and  by  flame,  and  captivity,  and 
by  spoil,  many  days."  (Verse  34.) 
"Now,  when  they  shall  fall,  they  shall 
be  holpen  with  a  little  help ;  but  many 
shall  cleave  to  them  with  flatteries." 
And  so  it  proved  ;  for  many  deserted 
from  Judas  ;  indeed,  it  was  desertion 
chiefly,  that  lost  him  his  last  battle,  and 
his  life.  Still  the  true  church  was 
holpen,  during  this  period,  "with  a  little 
help." 

"  And  some  of  them  of  understanding 
shall  fall,"  (verse  35.)  This,  Doctor 
Gill  thinks,  means,  "  shall  be  killed." 
It  appears  to  us,  however,  that  this  is 
exegetical  of  the  assertion  in  the  close 
of  verse  34,  relative  to  false  professors ; 
they  "  shall  cleave  to  them  by  flatteries." 
Even  some  true  men,  in  the  trying  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  will  shrink, 
faint,  and  fall  off  from  the  good  cause. 
To  this  the  force  of  the  term  translated, 
fall,  leads  us.  "  Even  the  youths  shall 
faint  and  fail,"  (Is.  xl.  30.)  "  O  Israel, 
return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  for  thou 
hast  fallen  by  thine  iniquity,"  (Hos. 
xiv.  1.)  So  many  of  the  followers  of 
the  Maccabees,  though  sincere,  had  not 
faith  and  courage  to  endure  through  the 
terrible  trials  that  befell  them.  These 
sore  distresses  came  upon  the  true 
church,  to  purify  her  from  her  dross, 
and  to  make  her  white,  "  even  to  the 
time  of  the  end  ;  because  it  is  yet  for  a 
time  appointed."  Thus,  it  appears  to 
us,  that  these  five  verses  are  equally 
applicable,  with  the  preceding,  to  the 
events  comprised  in  the  latter  years  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

The  angel  has  given  us  a  minute  his- 
tory of  occurrences  running  down  from 
the  days  of  Cyrus,  until  the  power 
passes  virtually  into  the  hands  of  the 
Romans, — or  fourth  catholic  monarchy. 
"  There  is  not,"  says  Bishop  Newton, 
(i.  240,)  "  so  complete  and  regular  a 
series  of  their  kings,  there  is  not  so  con- 
cise and  comprehensive  a  history  of 
their  affairs  to  be  found  in  any  author 
of  those  times.  The  prophecy  is  really 
more  perfect  than  any  history.  No  his- 
torian hath  related  so  many  circum- 
stances, and  in  such  exact  order  of  time, 


as  the  prophet  hath  foretold  them  :  so 
that  it  was  necessary  to  have  recourse 
to  several  authors,  Greek  and  Roman, 
Jewish  and  Christian  ;  to  collect  here 
something  from  one,  and  to  collect  there 
something  from  another,  for  the  better 
explaining  and  illustrating  the  great  va- 
riety of  particulars  contained  in  this  pro- 
phecy." "  This  exactness  was  so  con- 
vincing, that  Porphyry  could  not  pretend 
to  deny  it,  he  rather  laboured  to  confirm 
it,  and  drew  this  inference  from  it,  that 
it  could  not  possibly  be  written  before, 
but  must  have  been  written  in,  or  soon 
after  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
all  being  true  and  exact  to  that  time,  and 
no  farther.  Others,  after  him,  have 
asserted  the  same  thing,  not  only  with- 
out any  proof,  but  contrary  to  all  the 
proofs  which  can  be  had  in  cases  of  this 
nature."  Now  Porphyry  was  an  infidel, 
and  wrote  against  Christianity  How 
strong,  therefore,  the  testimony  which 
Providence  has  forced  from  him,  to  the 
truth  of  those  scriptures,  which  it  was 
his  purpose  to  discredit !  All  history 
proves  the  existence  of  the  Hebrew 
scriptures,  Daniel  among  the  rest,  and 
their  translation  into  Greek  at  the  re- 
quest and  cost  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus, 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the 
death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

It  is  proper  here  to  present  the  other 
view  of  the  context,  which  we  once  held 
as  the  correct  one ;  because  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  verse  36,  and  on- 
ward, apply  properly  to  the  Papal  apos- 
tacy.  Mr.  Mede  and  the  Newtons  have 
thought  that  the  Roman  power  is  pre- 
sented by  the  angel,  from  and  after  the 
time,  when  Popilius  turned  the  Syrian 
king  away  from  Egypt.  These  com- 
mentators, accordingly,  maintain,  that 
the  arms  of  verse  31,  are  the  Roman 
arms,  and  that  the  abomination  of  deso- 
lation is  the  erection  of  the  Roman 
standard  in  the  temple,  at  the  invasion 
and  sack  of  Jerusalem,  under  Titus, 
A.D.  70. 

Bishop  Newton,  indeed,  admits  the 
applicability  of  the.  former  part  to  Antio- 
chus, but  was  led  to  a  different  applica- 
tion by  reason  of  the  context;  he  there- 
fore proceeds  to  seek  for  events  in  the 


LECTURE  VI. 


59 


subsequent  history,  and  finds,  in  the 
victories  of  the  Romans,  the  warlike 
matters  ;  and  in  the  early  heresies  that 
infested  the  Christian  church,  the  flat- 
teries, and  the  "acting  wickedly"  of  the 
others.  The  "  little  help"  is  the  tempo- 
rary relief  to  the  church,  in  the  time  of 
Constantine  the  Great,  nearly  five  hun- 
dred years,  be  it  observed,  after  the  times 
of  Antiochus. 

Undoubtedly,  there  is  at  least  the  ap- 
pearance of  forced  work  here.  There 
is  surely  nothing  like  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion, in  these  verses,  of  the  ten  persecu- 
tions of  the  pagan  empire.  Why  then 
attempt  such  an  interpretation  1  The 
only  reasons  alleged  are  those  just  stated, 
— that  the  subjoined  context  (verse  36, 
and  onward,)  cannot  be  connected  with 
Antiochus,  and  his  times  ;  and  that  our 
Saviour,  in  Matt,  xxiv.,  applies  "  the 
abomination  of  desolation"  to  the  dese- 
cration and  destruction  of  the  temple 
and  city  by  the  Romans. 

As  to  the  former,  we  remark  that 
verse  35  plainly  intimates  a  space  of 
time,  and  a  long  space  too,  as  inter- 
vening between  the  matters  it  relates  to, 
and  what  follows.  The  purifying  pro- 
cess upon  the  church,  he  says,  now  be- 
gun indeed,  in  the  days  of  Antiochus 
and  the  Maccabees,  will,  nevertheless, 
be  a  long  and  tedious  process, — "even 
to  the  time  of  the  end  ;  because  it  is  yet 
for  a  time  appointed."  This  phrase, 
most  unquestionably  teaches  us,  that  a 
long  period  elapses  here :  and  we  can- 
not, therefore,  reasonably  connect  what 
follows  in  the  order  of  the  context,  with 
the  times  of  Epiphanes ;  but  must  look 
far  forward  for  its  accomplishment. 

As  to  the  reference  in  Matt,  xxiv., 
"  the  abomination  which  maketh  deso- 
late," is  idolatry  ;  and  therefore  every 
idolatrous  profanation  of  the  temple  is 
justly  called  by  that  name.  Now  there 
are  three  notable  occasions  of  this  kind 
mentioned  in  Daniel.  First :  this  of  An- 
tiochus Epiphanes.  We  have  seen  that 
it  was  the  very  thing,  as  to  substance, 
which  Daniel's  or  the  angel's  language 
implies.  Idolatry  was  set  up  in  the 
temple,  and  on  the  altar,  in  room  of  the 
true  God,  and  of  the  sacrifice  he  had 


ordered.  Second :  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  years  after  this,  Titus,  the 
Roman  general,  son  of  the  Emperor 
Vespasian,  did  almost  the  same  thing. 
He  erected  the  Roman  eagle  and  the 
image  of  the  emperor  in  the  sanctuary. 
This  is  referred  to  in  Daniel  ix.  27, 
where,  beyond  dispute,  the  destruction 
of  the  temple,  and  the  utter  suppression 
of  the  Jewish  system  of  worship,  is  the 
subject  of  discussion.  It  is  immediately 
consequent  upon  the  "  cutting  oft*  of 
Messiah,  but  not  for  himself."  Third  : 
there  is  another  "  abomination  of  deso- 
lation," (viii.  13,)  which  is  to  continue 
until  the  end  of  the  period  referred  to, 
that  is,  the  two  thousand  and  three 
(two)  hundred  days.  It  is  indeed  call- 
ed by  a  name  slightly  different — "  the 
transgression  of  desolation :"  but  the 
same  is  alluded  to  in  xii.  11,  and  its 
termination  fixed  to  the  same  period, — 
"  from  the  time  that  the  daily  sacrifice 
shall  be  taken  away,  and  the  abomina- 
tion that  maketh  desolate  set  up,  there 
shall  be  a  thousand  two  hundred  and 
ninety  days."  These  mark  the  time  of 
the  prevalence  of  idolatry  in  the  church, 
— the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years, 
during  the  Mahommedan  and  papal 
apostacies.  Now,  the  question  is, — >to 
which  of  these  three  has  the  Saviour 
reference  in  Matt.  xxiv.  ?  He  says, 
"  Let  him  that  readeth  understand." 
As  if  he  had  said,  that  there  were  va- 
rious abominations  of  desolation  :  and  a 
little  attention  would  enable  the  reader 
to  understand  which  was  meant ;  and 
with  that  attention,  which  so  important 
a  subject  requires,  he  could  not  mistake; 
but  must  see  that  the  reference  is  to  that 
abomination  of  idolatry  which  Daniel  as- 
sociates with  the  cutting  off"  of  Messiah  ; 
not  to  that  wherein  he  describes  the  vio- 
lence done,  in  the  ancient  times  of  his 
faithful  servants,  the  Maccabees ;  nor  to 
that  more  extended  and  terrible  pollution 
of  the  church  for  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  years,  which  will  commence  with 
the  idol  worship,  in  an  after  age,  and 
terminate  in  the  final  cleansing  of  the 
sanctuary,  at  the  end  of  this  period. 

The  fact  that  our  Saviour,  in  the  same 
context,  glides  into  a  discussion  relative 


60 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


to  the  future  judgment,  which  is  the  last 
and  finishing  work  in  the  cleansing  of 
the  sanctuary,  is  no  valid  objection  to 
this.  For  it  is  obvious,  that  idolatry, 
which  is  the  abomination,  is  the  sin  in 
all  these  forms  of  corruption  ;  and  that, 
when  the  heart  is  thoroughly  turned  from 
its  idols,  then  is  the  sanctuary  cleansed 
in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.  There 
is  an  identity,  as  to  spirit,  in  all  these 
abominations ;  and  the  vengeance  of 
heaven  upon  one,  is  a  pledge  and  type, 
as  it  were,  of  additional  judgments,  until 
the  final  day.  Hence  the  judgment  of 
God  on  Jerusalem,  is  a  type  of  his  final 
one,  and  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  mark 
the  precise  point  where  he  passes  over 
from  the  one  to  the  other.  This  is  called 
by  some,  and  with  good  propriety,  a 
twofold  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  So 
God's  wrath  upon  Jerusalem,  is  at  once 
an  accomplishment  of  Daniel's  prophecy 
concerning  the  abomination  spoken  of  in 
ix.  27;  and  a  prophecy  itself  of  the  more 
terrible  visitation  upon  all  wickedness  in 
the  great  day. 

Thus  we  have  proceeded  cautiously, 
carefully,  and,  we  trust,  successfully,  in 
our  dissection  of  the  image,  until  we 
have  reached  "  the  legs  of  iron."  The 
lion,  the  bear,  and  the  leopard,  have 
occupied  our  attention:  the  two-horned 
ram,  and  the  unicorn  goat,  we  have  fol- 
lowed up  in  succession,  and  marked  their 
movements  in  some  detail.  We  have 
brought  down  the  history  of  despotism, 
until  that  period  when  it  passes  into  the 
hands  of  the  Romans :  and  at  every 
turn,  we  have  seen  its  collision  with 
"  the  little  horn."  The  church  of  God 
has  suffered  exceedingly ;  but  still  she 
exists.  All  these  clashings,  wars,  and 
revolutions,  that  overturn  thrones,  leave 
her  in  the  integrity  of  her  being,  the 
same  indestructible  power.  The  floods 
pass  over  her,  and  seem  to  sweep  every 
thing  away  ;  but  Zion  raises  her  head 
from  the  midst  of  desolation,  and  there 
still  is  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  and 
the  sanctuary, — the  priest,  and  the 
sceptre  of  David.  Where  now  is  the 
head  of  gold,  the  breast  and  arms  of 
silver,  and  the  thighs  of  brass  ?  Where 
are  the   hundred  thrones   that   exulted 


over  the  throne  of  David  ?  Where  the 
thousand  armies  that  triumphed  over  the 
hosts  of  the  living  God?  But  Jerusalem 
stands ;  the  daughter  of  Zion  comes, 
fair  and  beautiful,  from  her  many  cap- 
tivities, with  harp  in  hand,  to  sing  the 
funeral  dirge  of  the  nations  that  spoiled 
her.  "  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O 
Jacob !  and  thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel ! 
As  the  valleys  are  they  spread  forth,  as 
gardens  by  the  river's  side,  as  the  trees 
of  lign-aloes  which  the  Lord  hath  plant- 
ed, and  as  cedars  beside  the  waters.  He 
shall  pour  the  water  out  of  his  buckets, 
and  his  seed  shall  be  in  many  waters, 
and  his  king  shall  be  higher  than  Agag, 
and  his  kingdom  shall  be  exalted.  God 
brought  him  forth  out  of  Egypt ;  he 
hath,  as  it  were,  the  strength  of  an  uni- 
corn :  he  shall  cut  up  the  nations,  his 
enemies,  and  shall  break  their  bones, 
and  pierce  them  through  with  his  ar- 
rows. He  couched,  he  lay  down  as  a 
lion,  and  as  a  great  lion ;  who  shall  stir 
him  up  ?  Blessed  is  he  that  blesseth 
thee,  and  cursed  is  he  that  curseth  thee." 
(Numb,  xxxiv.  5-9.) 

The  history  that  has  passed  in  review 
affords  many  instructive  lessons. 

1.  Again  your  attention  is  called  to 
the  evidence  hence  resulting,  that  the 
sacred  scriptures  are  given  by  inspira- 
tion of  God.  What  eye  but  His,  could 
glance  down  the  vistas  of  time,  and 
point  out  the  revolutions  of  empire? 
What  hand  but  that  which  orders  and 
ordains  the  be<nnninfr  and  the  end, — 
which  see  both  alike,  and  perpetually, 
could  bring  about  the  events  to  verify 
his  own  predictions  ?  The  assertion  of 
Porphyry,  already  alluded  to,  ought 
never  to  be  forgotten ;  for  it  forms  a 
branch  of  one  of  the  most  decisive  his- 
torical arguments.  He  was  the  very 
first  scholar  in  the  philosophical  school 
of  Platinus,  the  most  celebrated  in  the 
first  five  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  : 
yet  he,  with  the  lights  of  much  history, 
long  since  lost,  acknowledged  that  the 
record  of  Daniel  exactly  accorded  with 
facts, — so  exactly,  that  he  affirmed  it, 
at  least  this  portion  of  it,  to  have  been 
written  in  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  or  very  soon  after. 


LECTURE  VI. 


Porphyry's  opinion  as  to  the  strict  coin- 
cidence of  the  prophet  and  the  historian, 
is  more  to  be  relied  on  than  the  opinion 
of  any  man  in  modern  times ;  for  the 
simple  reason,  that  many  early  records  to 
which  he  had  access,  are  now  lost.  All 
we  need,  after  his  admission,  to  make 
the  argument  close,  is  the  historical  fact, 
that  Daniel's  prophecy  was  translated 
from  the  Hebrew  into  Greek,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  before  the  death 
of  Epiphanes.  Thus,  prostrated  by 
his  own  blow,  the  infidel  lies  bleeding 
upon  his  spear. 

2.  We  see  here  how  God  makes  "  the 
potsherds  of  the  earth  to  dash  against 
the  potsherds  of  the  earth,"  and  all  are 
-broken  to  pieces.  Ambition  is  the 
scourge  of  ambition.  The  Persian 
monarch  could  not  rest  satisfied  with 
an  empire  extending  from  the  Himma- 
leyahs  to  the  Hellespont.  Greece  must 
be  added  to  a  territory  already  too  im- 
mense for  safety  ;  and  Asia  and  Africa 
must  be  emptied  of  their  soldiery,  to 
crush  a  few  lovers  of  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence on  the  shores  of  Europe.  What 
is  the  consequence  ?  The  "  stirring  up 
of  all  against  the  realm  of  Grecia," 
brought  down  a  few  Greeks  to  sweep 
away  the  Persian  throne,  and  to  bear 
the  sceptre  of  the  great,  universal  mo- 
narchy, farther  towards  the  setting  sun. 

3.  We  learn  the  corrupting  influence  of 
hoarded  wealth.  The  riches  which  power 
enables  autocrats  to  accumulate,  become 
the  instruments  of  extending  and  per- 
petuating their  sway.  Nor  is  it  possible 
in  a  government  of  mere  force,  where 
no  moral  principle  operates,  that  it  should 
be  otherwise.  Such  power,  once  created, 
can  be  destroyed  expeditiously  only  by 
an  influence  like  itself,  and  that  influence 
will,  of  course,  take  its  place.  The 
wealth  and  the  power  are  not  annihilated : 
they  have  only  changed  hands.  This 
suggests  another  remark. 

4.  Amidst  all  the  revolutions  of  em- 
pire, there  has  been  no  change  of  prin- 
ciple. There  have  been  vast  upturnings 
of  thrones,  dominions,  principalities, 
and  powers,  but  the  result  is  the  same. 
Mankind  have  never,  permanently, 
gained  any  thing   by  revolutions   pro- 


duced by  physical  force  alone.  It  is 
not  in  the  nature  of  such  force  to  better 
human  condition.  What  boots  it  to 
slay  the  lion,  if  we  immediately  fall  into 
the  paw  of  the  bear  ?  No ;  the  blood- 
less victories  of  truth,  and  these  only, 
improve  the  condition  of  the  race.  Man 
can  never  be  made  free  and  happy  by 
mere  compulsion.  The  light  of  truth 
must  shine  around  his  head,  and  the 
law  of  holiness  and  of  God  must  reign 
in  his  heart,  or  nothing  is  done  effec- 
tually. 

5.  We  see  how  national  antipathies 
are  generated, — how  they  perpetuate 
themselves,  and  destroy  human  society. 
The  ambition  of  Seleucus  Nicator,  and 
of  Ptolemy  Lagus, — men  who  had 
served  in  the  same  phalanx,  kindled  up 
the  fire  of  deadly  hate  in  their  bosoms  : 
from  them  it  passed  into  their  armies, 
and  their  kingdoms  ;  and  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  it  blazed  on,  while 
life  and  happiness  fed  its  flame.  We 
have  seen  something  similar  to  this  in 
regard  to  the  land  of  our  fathers.  Even 
the  grave  historian  is  not  ashamed  to 
speak  of  the  hereditary,  national  anti- 
pathy, and  natural  enmity  of  France  and 
England.  Let  us  take  warning  in  time, 
and  avoid  the  cultivation  of  such  a  spirit. 
Above  all,  let  us  not  indulge  such  feel- 
ings towards  the  home  of  our  fore- 
fathers. We  need  special  caution  here  ; 
for  there  are  strong  tendencies  in  this 
direction.  Should  these  continue, — 
should  either  nation  sinfully  cherish 
them  into  a  fixed  hatred,  we  must  in- 
evitably entail  vast  calamities  upon  our 
respective  countries  ;  and  indeed,  upon 
the  whole  human  race.  Why  should 
this  be  1  Why  should  the  only  two 
nations  under  heaven,  who  enjoy  a  sys- 
tem of  law,  whose  foundation  is  on  the 
word  of  eternal  truth, — who  have  a  com- 
mon Christianity, — a  common  language, 
— common  literature,  science,  and  blood, 
— why  should  they  create,  and  nourish 
such  national  animosities  ?  Let  us  then 
avoid  every  thing  that  has  this  tendency: 
and  evince,  in  our  writings,  and  in 
our  social  intercourse,  sentiments  of  the 
most  friendly  and  Christian  character, 
towards  the  British  Isles.     Whilst  there 


62 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


is  much  yet  to  reform  in  their  govern- 
ment, there  is  a  vast  amount  of  sub- 
stantial freedom  enjoyed  by  the  people  ; 
and  we  know  not  how  soon  we  may 
need  their  help  in  defending  the  common 
Christianity  and  the  privileges  of  man. 
For  if  we  be  spared  to  see  the  conclu- 
sion of  these  lectures,  we  shall  be  con- 
vinced that  the  day  is  fast  approaching, 
when  the  Lion  and  the  Eagle  will  stand 
the  only  defenders  of  human  freedom. 

6.  We  learn  the  fact  that  power  has 
a  corrupting  influence  upon  man.  It 
finds  or  makes  him  a  tyrant.  Casting 
our  eye  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present 
context,  and  running  down  through  the 
period  whose  history  it  records,  we  see 
every  where,  that  power  runs  into 
excess.  With  scarcely  an  exception,  it 
is  allied  with  moral  turpitude  and  crime. 
Licentious  outrage  has  its  home  near  the 
throne.  Base  duplicity,  intriguing,  and 
over-reaching,  belong  to  the  character  of 
a  great  politician.  The  politics  of  na- 
tions is  a  system  of  unfair  dealing  ;  and 
he  is,  too  often,  the  best  diplomatist,  who 
is  the  most  accomplished  and  talented 
intriguer.  The  success  of  state  policy 
is  the  only  measure  of  its  wisdom,  and 
the  only  index  of  true  greatness.  Now, 
is  not  the  ancient  rule,  to  a  lamentable 
degree  applicable, — is  it  not  actually 
applied  to  modern  society?  Are  we 
not,  even  in  highly  favoured  America, 
acting  in  some  considerable  degree,  upon 
the  grand  principle  of  the  universal 
despot,  that  religion  has  nothing  to  do 
with  politics; — conscience  towards  God, 
— a  feeling  of  obligation  to  the  Governor 
of  the  universe,  must  not  be  brought 
into  political  life  ?  Is  it  not  a  proverbial 
saying,  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  an 
honest  politician  ?  But  we  forbear  for 
the  present.  This  point  will  come  up 
asain  hereafter. 


LECTURE  VII. 

THE    FOURTH    BEAST. 

Daniel  vii.  7,  8, 19,  20. 

"  And  after  this  I  saw  in  the  night  visions, 
and  behold  a  fourth  beast,  dreadful  and  terrible, 
and  strong  exceedingly ;  and  it  had  great  iron 
teeth  ;  it  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and 
stamped  the  residue  with  the  feet  of  it ;  and  it 
was  diverse  from  all  the  beasts  that  were  before 
it,  and  it  had  ten  horns." 

If  there  is  placed  before  an  anatomist 
a  living  subject,  and  he  is  bidden  to  strike 
with  his  instrument  that  very  point  in  the 
knee,  where  the  principal  bones  meet, 
without  cutting  either,  it  is  highly  pro- 
bable that  he  may  not  hit  the  precise 
place  of  juncture. 

The  joint,  which  is  a  sort  of  disjunc- 
tive conjunction,  and  holds  apart  the 
bones  as  well  as  unites  them  together, 
he  may  fail  to  touch  just  at  the  desired 
spot.  Similar  is  the  difficulty  of  the 
prophetical  anatomist.  The  very  point 
of  time  at  which  we  pass  down  from  the 
brazen  thigh  of  the  giant  image,  to  the 
iron  legs,  we  cannot  settle.  The  exact 
moment  when  the  sceptre  of  universal 
dominion  was  transferred  from  the  brass 
to  the  iron, — from  the  Greek  to  the 
Roman,  history  cannot  determine. 

The  transition  itself  is  infinitely  more 
important  than  our  particular  knowledge 
of  it, — the  fact,  than  the  precise  date  of 
the  fact.  That  it  did  take  place  no  one 
can  doubt ;  and  without  attempting  to 
settle  dates  with  any  great  accuracy, 
we  may  in  general  say,  that  "  westward 
the  star  of  empire  took  its  way,"  when 
Macedon,  Syria,  and  Egypt,  were  added 
as  provinces  to  the  Roman  empire,  that 
is,  from  168  to  31,  B.  C.  At  this  latter 
date,  the  fourth  beast  may  be  said  to 
have  attained  his  majority,  and  to  have 
assumed  the  full  exercise  of  his  func- 
tions. 

To  produce  such  a  monster,  was  not 
the  work  of  a  day.  To  perfect  his 
maturity,  required  a  period  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-two  years.  The 
Roman* city  and  state  was  established 
B.  C.  753,  during  the  reign  of  Uzziah, 
king  of  Judah,  about  the  time  when  the 


LECTURE  VII. 


63 


second  Assyrian  empire  was  founded  by 
Pul,  or  his  son,  Nabonassar,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  before  Daniel  wrote 
his  prophecy.  Thus  while  the  splen- 
dour of  sovereignty  was  embellishing  Ba- 
bylon, and  the  arts  and  sciences  were 
making  her  the  pride  of  kingdoms,  a 
barbarous  race  were  laying,  upon  a 
distant  and  savage  shore,  the  basis  of 
an  empire,  which  should  snatch  the 
sceptre  from  the  east,  and  live  in  pomp 
and  glory,  when  the  dust  of  the  brazen- 
gated  city  should  be  the  sport  of  the 
winds. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  light  of  imperial 
grandeur,  it  is  not  in  the  specious  garb 
of  royal  magnificence,  that  we  are  to 
contemplate  this  mistress  of  nations. 
The  prophet's  imagery  is  very  different. 
So  revolting,  on  the  contrary,  is  she  to 
his  sainted  vision,  that  nature  furnishes 
no  living  symbol  whereby  to  represent 
her.  A  monster  form  is  requisite,  an 
absolute  nondescript,  a  ferocious  power, 
rioting  upon  the  spoils  of  empire,  crush- 
ing to  the  ground  and  stamping  to  pieces 
whole  nations. 

The  prophet  tells  us,  in  verse  23,  that 
this  beast  is  "the  fourth  kingdom  upon 
earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all 
kingdoms,  and  shall  devour  the  whole 
earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down  and  break 
it  in  pieces."  What  kingdom  is  this? 
Can  it  be  pretended  that  this  description 
will  suit  the  successors  of  Alexander  ? 
Will  these  characteristics  apply  to  the 
two  monarchies  of  the  Lagidaa,  and  the 
Seleucidse  ?  Such  an  interpretation  is 
perfectly  preposterous,  because — 

1.  The  prophet  does  not  say  that 
there  are  two  beasts,  or  that  the  one 
beast  is  divided  into  two  parts.  He 
speaks  of  one  kingdom  upon  earth, — 
"  the  fourth."  Now,  neither  Syria,  nor 
Egypt  can  be  meant  by  it;  for  neither  of 
these  advanced  before  the  other ;  they 
were  rivals,  and  were  very  equally  ba- 
lanced during  the  entire  period  of  their 
being. 

2.  If  the  successors  of  Alexander  be 
represented  by  this  fourth  beast,  and 
Alexander's  empire,  as  distinguished 
from  those  who  followed  him,  be  the 
third,    then    the    leopard    was    a   very 


short-lived  animal,  scarcely  seven  years 
old,  and  the  fourth  beast  existed  only 
two  hundred  and  twenty-four  years. 
Do  either  of  these  correspond  with  the 
idea  of  the  iron  kingdom? 

3.  This  power  is  diverse  from  all  the 
others.  But  in  what  principle  or  prac- 
tice did  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  or  of 
Egypt,  differ  from  the  preceding?  Was 
there  a  single  feature  of  distinction? 
Did  not  the  same  forms  of  government, 
of  war,  and  of  religion  prevail  ? 

4.  It  is  "  terrible  and  strong  exceed- 
ingly." All  the  phraseology  bespeaks 
for  it  a  more  extended,  formidable  and 
permanent  dominion.  But  what  histo- 
rian imputes  these  peculiarities  to  "  the 
successors  of  Alexander  ?"  When  did 
they,  or  any  one  of  them,  "  devour  and 
stamp  in  pieces  the  nations  of  the  whole 
earth  ?" 

5.  This  beast  has  ten  horns  ; — ten 
kingdoms  spring  up  within  it.  Have 
they  ever  been  found  ?  Who  is  it  that 
professes  to  have  discovered  ten  new 
governments  arising  upon  the  decline 
and  fall  of  the  Lagidse,  and  the  Seleu- 
cidse? 

But  we  waste  time  in  the  refutation  of 
an  exposition  so  unreasonable.  It  is 
evident  that  there  never  has  been  any 
power,  nation  or  empire,  to  which  the 
prophet's  description  would  apply,  but 
the  Roman.  It  may  be  useful,  however, 
to  remark,  that  this  interpretation  was 
advanced  in  the  third  century,  by  Por- 
phyry, who  attempted  to  reconcile  Chris- 
tianity with  Paganism,  by  proving  a  sub- 
stantial agreement.  Jerome  refuted  his 
exposition  and  heresy :  the  former,  at 
least,  lay  dead  for  ages.  It  may  have 
been  held  by  some  intermediate  specu- 
lators ;  but  it  was  revived,  with  some 
little  success,  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, by  the  celebrated  Grotius,  who 
resembled  Porphyry  in  the  excess  of 
his  philosophical  charity  for  all  opi- 
nions. He  attempted  to  throw  the  man- 
tle of  this  spurious  charity  over  all 
sects,  and  to  cover  them  with  its  capa- 
cious folds.  The  Armenian  and  the 
Calvinist  meant  the  same  thing, — the 
Protestant  and  the  Romanist  agreed 
substantially.     To  aid  him  in    sustain- 


64 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ing  this  last  assertion,  he  embraced 
Porphyry's  interpretation,  and  thus  en- 
deavoured to  bring  down  the  pope  from 
the  little  horn  of  Daniel's  fourth  beast. 
A  man  of  such  comprehensive  benevo- 
lence would  of  course  be  received  by  all 
sects  to  whom  truth  is  of  little  conse- 
quence ;  for  errorists  are  fond  of  those 
who  will  allow  them  a  place  in  the 
calendar  of  orthodoxy.  The  most  suc- 
cessful abettors  of  heresy,  are  those 
who  carry  upon  both  shoulders  the 
broad  mantle  of  an  amiable  charity. 
Grotius,  however,  failed  to  convince  the 
Calvinist  that  he  was  an  Armenian  he- 
retic ;  or  the  Protestant  that  his  faith 
was  the  same  with  the  pope's.  He  lost 
the  confidence  of  good  men,  by  his  ef- 
forts to  introduce  unworthy  persons  into 
the  orthodox  churches :  and  this  will 
ever  be  the  case  with  those  whose  mode- 
ration leads  them  to  sacrifice  the  truth. 

Before  we  proceed  with  the  exposition, 
let  us  glance  at  the  Roman  history. 

Rome  was  founded,  as  already  men- 
tioned, in  the  year  B.  C.  753,  and  in  the 
year  of  the  world  3251.  As  is  common, 
its  early  history  is  involved  in  fable,  or 
at  least,  intermingled  with  romance. 
For  two  hundred  and  forty-four  years, 
it  was  a  monarchy,  but  one  of  a  pecu- 
liar kind.  The  sovereignty  was  not 
hereditary,  at  least  not  in  theory.  It 
was  checked  and  limited  in  its  power  by 
a  strong  and  often  overbearing  aristo- 
cracy, which,  under  the  name  of  Senate, 
held  in  check  the  authority  of  the  king, 
and  exercised  the  right  of  choosing  him. 

In  the  year  B.  C.  509,  Tarquinius 
Superbus  and  his  whole  house  were  ex- 
pelled from  Rome,  under  the  auspices  of 
Brutus.  This  was  occasioned  by  the 
king's  ruthless  invasion  of  the  sanctuary 
of  a  husband's  love,  in  the  matter  of 
Lucretia,  the  virtuous  wife  of  a  noble 
senator.  Strong  in  the  pride  of  family, 
virtuous,  though  weak  and  ignorant  of 
moral  duty,  Lucretia  had  not  fortitude 
to  sustain  herself  under  the  insult,  but 
sank  into  the  suicide's  grave;  exceed- 
ing, by  this  crime,  even  Tarquin,  in  the 
greatness  of  his  delinquency.  Brutus 
seized  upon  the  incident  to  call  forth 
public  odium,  already  very  considerable, 


against  Tarquin :  he  was  consequently 
expelled,  and  the  kingly  office  abolished. 
The  supreme  executive  power  was 
then  vested  in  the  hands  of  two  consuls, 
chosen  for  two  years.  A  step  was  thus 
taken  towards  the  republican  form  of  go- 
vernment. This  continued  through  a 
period  of  four  hundred  and  sixty-one 
years  ;  during  which  time  the  empire  of 
Rome  was  enlarged,  so  as  to  extend 
from  the  borders  of  Persia  to  the  hills  of 
Caledonia,  and  from  the  deserts  of  Lybia 
and  the  summit  of  Mount  Atlas  to  the 
heart  of  Germany.  The  terror  of  the 
Roman  name  outstripped  the  march  of 
her  legions,  until  at  length  the  labour  of 
leading  an  army  to  a  hostile  power  was 
more  appalling  than  the  horrors  of  war 
and  the  dangers  of  battle.  But  the  spirit 
of  war  is  insatiable.  The  thirst  for 
blood  and  for  the  spoils  of  conquest, 
once  created  and  become  the  charac- 
teristic of  a  nation,  who  can  control  it? 
The  demon  of  destruction,  having  de- 
voured its  prey,  and  finding  nothing 
more  to  devour,  turns  in  upon  itself, 
and  feasts  on  its  own  bosom.  Rome, 
the  proud  and  tyrannical  republic,  is  at 
last  the  victim  of  her  own  folly,  and 
falls  a  bleeding  sacrifice  at  the  altar  of 
her  own  ambition.  The  arms  by  which 
she  had  subverted  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  all  other  nations,  are  now  directed 
against  herself,  and  triumph  over  the 
victor  mistress  of  the  whole  earth.  Pre- 
paratory to  this,  the  proud  eagle's 
pinions  are  trimmed  by  the  Parthian 
arrow  ;  the  hosts  which  its  wings  hither- 
to protected,  and  led  on  to  sure  con- 
quest, are  hewed  to  pieces  by  the  Per- 
sian scimetar.  Crassus,  their  general, 
one  of  the  first  Triumvirates,  is  taken 
prisoner,  and  then  beheaded  ;  the  glory 
of  the  Roman  name  is  tarnished,  and 
the  world  taught  that  Roman  soldiers 
can  be  vanquished.  This  leaves  the 
dispute  for  empire  between  the  two  col- 
leagues of  Crassus.  The  issue  is  not 
long  doubtful.  On  the  twelfth  of  May, 
B.  C.  48,  the  battle  of  Pharsalia  places 
the  sword  of  catholic  dominion  in  the 
hand  of  Julius  Caesar ;  whilst  it  casts 
out  the  carcass  of  the  great  Pompey,  a 
headless   and   unburied   trunk,   on   the 


LECTURE  VII. 


65 


Egyptian  strand.  The  spirit,  of  republi- 
can simplicity  and  integrity  succumbs 
to  a  once  high-minded  and  haughty,  but 
now  venal  aristocracy,  which  humbles 
itself  at  the  feet  of  the  Caesars,  whom  it 
has  made  lords  of  the  world. 

But  no  forms  of  human  government, 
from  which  are  absent  the  undying  ener- 
gies of  eternal  truth,  can  ever  be  per- 
manent. 

God  made  man  for  freedom, — for  go- 
vernment by  moral  law,  by  the  force  of 
truth,  operating  through  the  understand- 
ing, upon  the  conscience;  and  all  forms 
destitute  of  this  vitality,  however  he  may 
tolerate  them  for  a  time,  as  other  evils 
are  tolerated,  that  he  may  evince  their 
folly  and  inefficiency,  he  will  in  the  end 
bring  to  naught,  and  their  abettors  to 
confusion.  Deep  as  may  be  the  dye  of 
the  imperial  purple, — steeped,  as  it  al- 
ways has  been,  in  human  blood,  and  set 
in  woman's  tears, — brilliant  and  daz- 
zling as  its  lustre  is,  it  is  doomed  to 
fade.  Before  the  sunbeams  of  everlast- 
ing truth  it  must  grow  dim  and  pass 
away.  The  light-  of  science — of  the 
science  of  man — must  and  will  extin- 
guish the  fires,  which  the  weakness  and 
ignorance  of  a  people  have  kindled  upon 
the  altars  of  a  tyrant's  vanity. 

If  God  say,  concerning  the  moral 
state  of  a  nation,  or  the  family  of  na- 
tions, "  Let  there  be  light,"  it  will  arise, 
and  darkness  and  its  daughter,  despot- 
ism, will  flee  before  it.  Means  will  not 
be  wanting  to  break  in  pieces  the  de- 
stroyer of  the  nations.  The  time  may 
be  long,  but  still  its  approach  is  certain. 

Agreeably  to  this,  the  splendour  of 
the  imperial  purple  hardly  sustained  it- 
self beyond  one  reign.  Debaucheries 
at  home  and  dishonour  abroad  soon  en- 
feebled the  monarch's  hands.  The  clay 
mixed  with  the  iron.  Its  tottering  frame 
was  arrested  for  a  short  time  in  its  down- 
ward course,"by  the  great  Theodosius  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  fourth  century;  but 
upon  his  decease  the  barriers  gave  way, 
and  the  descent  was  rapid ;  until,  in 
A.  D.  476,  the  sceptre  of  catholic  rule 
dropped  from  the  nerveless  hand  of 
Augustulus,  the  last  of  the  Caesars,  and 
Odoacer,  the  Goth,  proclaimed  himself 

9 


king  of  Italy.  Thus  ended  the  imperial 
power  of  Rome,  after  it  had  existed, 
under  every  variety  of  fortune,  five 
hundred  and  twenty-four  years. 

Now  if  we  add  together  the  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  years  of  the  kingly 
form,  the  four  hundred  and  sixty-one  of 
the  consular  republic,  and  the  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  of  the  imperial,  we 
shall  have  a  grand  total  of  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  years,  as 
the  duration  of  the  Roman  state,  prior 
to  her  division  into  the  ten  kingdoms, 
symbolized  by  the  ten  toes  of  the  image 
and  the  ten  horns  of  the  beast. 

In  expounding  the  prophet's  language 
we  must  note  the  characteristics  of  the 
beast,  or  Roman  kingdom. 

1.  Its  great  power, — "  strong  exceed- 
ingly." The  same  quality  is  typified 
by  the  iron  legs  and  feet  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's image.  Strength  can  be  known 
only  by  its  exertion.  From  the  effects 
of  power  we  learn  its  existence  and  its 
measure.  The  power  of  Rome  was  felt 
in  her  operations.  If  we  follow  Daniel, 
he  will  lead  us  to  the  knowledge  of  this 
strength,  by  his  descriptions  of  its  ef- 
fects. 

2.  The  policy  of  Rome  in  appropri- 
ating to  herself  the  territory  and  the- 
wealth  of  vanquished  nations :  "  it  de- 
voured" all  before  it.  The  flesh  which 
a  beast  of  prey  eats  becomes  a  part  of 
itself,  and  creates  the  very  vigour  by 
which  it  is  enabled  to  circumvent,  seize 
and  appropriate  to  itself  more  prey. 
Such  was  the  Roman  policy  from  the 
outset.  Romulus  conquered  the  Sa- 
bines  and  united  them  with  the  state, 
and  so  enlarged  his  dominion.  This 
policy  secured  a  rapid  and  sure  increase. 
The  petty  governments  in  the  vicinity 
lost  nothing  by  their  subjection.  They 
became  speedily  part  and  portion  of  a 
greater  state,  and  thus  more  secure  and 
more  elevated,  as  to  honour  and  the 
glory  of  arms,  than  before. 

3.  Where  such  union  was  impracti- 
cable, through  the  obstinacy  of  the  van- 
quished or  by  reason  of  local  peculiari- 
ties, their  policy  was  to  destroy.  Such 
was  the  case  with  Alba  Longa.  The 
city  was  totally  ruined2  and  the  relic  of 


66 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


its  inhabitants  transferred  to  Rome,  and 
admitted  to  all  her  privileges. 

4.  Hence  this  beast  became  an  object 
in  the  end  of  great  terror  to  all  the  na- 
tions. The  name  of  a  Roman  citizen 
was  a  protection  to  the  possessor  over 
all  the  world.  In  the  case  of  Antiochus 
the  Great  and  Popilius,  the  Roman  le- 
gate, we  have  had  a  sample  of  the  fear 
and  awe  which  accompanied  the  fourth 
beast.  It  became  "  dreadful  and  terri- 
ble, and  strong  exceedingly." 

5.  The  result  of  these  properties  is  a 
universal  or  catholic  empire  :  "  It  shall 
devour  the  whole  earth,  and  break  it  in 
pieces."  History  bears  out  the  prophet. 
It  would  be  idle  for  us  to  dwell  on  this 
point.  Who  needs  to  be  informed  of 
the  vast  extent,  any  more  than  of  the 
mighty  power,  of  Rome?  "Half  our 
learning  is  her  epitaph  ;"  and  when  his- 
tory has  recorded  her  wondrous  deeds, 
and  spread  out  on  her  ample  page  the 
tale  of  her  conquests,  that  page  is  near- 
ly filled  :  a  small  portion  only  is  left  for 
the  rest  of  the  nations. 

6.  The  last  particular  noticed  by  the 
prophet,  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  fourth 
monarchy : — "  It  was  diverse  from  all 
the  beasts  that  were  before  it ;"  verse 
23,  "  The  fourth  kingdom  upon  earth 
shall  be  diverse  from  all  kingdoms." 

This  diversity  must  be  sought  for,  not 
in  the  degrees  of  any  characteristic  com- 
mon to  the  other  kingdoms  :  for  no  two 
are  exactly  equal  in  power,  duration, 
riches,  ambition,  cruelty,  or  martial 
prowess.  But  it  is  to  be  looked  for  in 
the  essential  character.  There  are  in- 
deed traits  common  to  them.  All  the 
four  are  strong,  extended,  and  cruel  in 
their  oppressive  tyranny,  especially  to- 
wards the  church  of  God  ;  and  lamen- 
tably regardless  of  the  rights  of  man. 
What  then  is  the  peculiar  property  of 
the  fourth  catholic  monarchy? 

To  this  the  only  correct  response  is, 
— the  forms  of  its  government.  These 
are  seven,  upon  which  we  shall  not  now 
dwell.  That  topic  will  be  called  up  by 
its  own  proper  symbol,  the  seven  heads 
of  this  same  monster  beast,  as  exhibited 
in  another  prophecy.  What  we  are 
now  to  contemplate  is  the  leading  fea- 


ture in  which  Rome  differed  from  all  the 
three  preceding  empires.  That  distinc- 
tion lies  in  the  popular  feature.  Mea- 
surably, the  elective  principle  run  through 
her  entire  existence.  The  people  and  se- 
nate elected  the  king,  the  consul,  the  em- 
peror. These  elections  were  far,  very 
far  from  being  a  pure,  free,  and  untram- 
melled expression  of  the  public  voice ; 
not  even  in  the  best  days  of  the  republic. 
Still,  though  defective,  the  elective  prin- 
ciple existed.  Rome  never  was,  in  theo- 
ry, an  absolute  and  unlimited  monarchy. 
Practically,  she  often  was  governed  by  an 
autocrat :  yet  even  in  the  days  of  the 
most  lordly  emperors,  there  was  the 
semblance  of  a  senate  and  the  name  of 
deliberation,  legislation  and  even  elec- 
tion, as  to  the  emperor  himself.  This 
element  survived  the  imperial  dignity, 
and  yielded  not  under  the  oppressive 
hand  of  Goth,  Vandal,  and  Hun. 

Now  no  such  principle  can  be  found 
in  any  of  the  three  preceding  kingdoms. 
They  were  simply  arbitrary,  military 
despotisms :  where  the  will  of  the  de- 
spot was  law.  He  made  peace  and  war 
at  pleasure.  Above  him  there  was  no 
law, — no  constitution.  Below  him,  no 
council, — no  senate, — no  organized  body 
of  nobility, — no  aristocracy  acting  as  a 
check  upon  the  autocrat.  A  dynasty 
might  change,  but  this  produced  no 
change  of  principle.  It  was  absolute 
monarchy  still, — the  monarchy  of  might 
and  power,  not  of  law  and  principle. 
Here  then  we  have  a  clearly  marked 
distinction.  This  beast  is  diverse  from 
all  the  others  in  one  essential  feature. 

Before  we  proceed  to  his  ten  horns,  it 
will  be  proper  to  note  a  remark  in  verse 
12,  which,  in  chronological  order  pre- 
cedes their  rise,  and  is  important  to  our 
inquiry  after  the  ten  kingdoms.  Having 
run  down  the  history  of  the  fourth  beast 
until  he  is  slain  and  his  body  is  given  to 
the  burning  flame, — a  period  very  far 
distant  in  the  future,  the  prophet  says, 
"As  concerning  the  rest  of  the  beasts, 
they  had  their  dominion  taken  away  ; 
yet  their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  sea- 
son and  a  time." 

Bearing  in  mind  that  the  beast  is  the 
catholic  monarchy,  we  can  easily  per- 


LECTURE  VII. 


67 


ceive  how  his  dominion,  his  arbitrary, 
universal  power,  is  taken  away,  and  his 
life  prolonged.  The  sceptre  of  catholic 
despotism  passed  from  the  Assyrio-Ba- 
bylonian  empire,  to  that  of  the  Medo- 
Persian.  "  Peres  :  Thy  kingdom  is 
divided  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians," (Dan.  v.  28)  ;  thence  to  the 
Grseco-Macedonian ;  and  thence  the 
same  sceptre  passed  over  to  the  Roman 
state.  Meanwhile  the  body  of  the  As- 
syrians and  Babylonians,  and  all  the 
provinces  of  the  empire  east  of  the 
Euphrates,  continued  ;  and  even  kingly 
power  was  for  many  ages  exercised  by 
portions  of  them  as  distinct  nations. 

But  we  cannot  better  express  the  ideas 
which  appear  to  us  correct,  than  in  the 
language  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  quoted 
by  Bishop  Newton,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  them.  "And  therefore,"  says 
Sir  Isaac,  (Bp.  Newton,  i.  274,)  "  all 
the  four  beasts  are  still  alive,  though  the 
dominion  of  the  three  first  be  taken 
away.  The  nations  of  Chaldea  and 
Assyria  are  still  the  first  beast.  Those 
of  Media  and  Persia  are  still  the  second 
beast.  Those  of  Macedon,  Greece,  and 
Thrace,  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Egypt, 
are  still  the  third  beast ;  and  those  of 
Europe  on  this  side  Greece  are  still  the 
fourth  beast.  Seeing  therefore  the  body 
of  the  third  beast  is  confined  to  the 
nations  on  this  side  the  Euphrates,  and 
the  body  of  the  fourth  beast  is  confined 
to  the  nations  on  this  side  Greece,  we 
are  to  look  for  all  the  four  heads  of  the 
third  beast,  among  the  nations  on  this 
side  the  river  Euphrates  ;  and  for  all  the 
eleven  horns  of  the  fourth  beast,  among 
the  nations  on  this  side  of  Greece.  And 
therefore,  at  the  breaking  of  the  Greek 
empire  into  four  kingdoms  of  the  Greeks, 
we  include  no  part  of  the  Chaldeans, 
Medes,  and  Persians  in  those  kingdoms, 
because  they  belonged  to  the  bodies  of 
the  two  first  beasts.  Nor  do  we  reckon 
the  Greek  empire  seated  at  Constanti- 
nople, among  the  horns  of  the  fourth 
beast,  because  it  belonged  to  the  body 
of  the  third." 

Thus  this  profound  philosopher  ap- 
pears to  have  had  a  clear  view  of  these 
four  empires,  and  a  correct  apprehension 


of  the  predictions  concerning  them.  The 
transition  of  power  always  involved  a 
change  of  location.  The  seat  of  empire, 
as  well  as  the  dynasty,  was  changed. 
Especially  is  this  strongly  marked  in 
the  latter  three.  The  whole  four  ex- 
tend over  parts  of  the  same  territory, 
yet  their  bodies,  as  Sir  Isaac  says, 
have  their  distinct  location  :  that  is,  the 
particular  kingdom  or  kingdoms  com- 
posing them,  constitute  their  proper  sub- 
stance, and  have  a  locality  of  their  own  ; 
contradistinguished  from  the  territory 
and  the  nations  who  were  overrun  by 
them,  but  not  fully  and  permanently 
united  with  them. 

Still,  however,  there  are  difficulties 
here,  which  no  commentator  whom  I 
have  consulted  attempts  to  solve.  In 
verse  11,  we  are  told  that  the  fourth 
beast  is  slain,  "  his  body  is  destroyed 
and  given  to  the  burning  flame."  Clearly 
there  is  a  distinction  made  between  the 
beast  and  his  body;  for  the  one  is  slain 
and  the  other  destroyed.  Can  the  beast 
be  slain  and  yet  his  body  not  be  de- 
stroyed ?  The  answer  may  be  found  in 
verse  12,  where  are  immediately  brought 
up  the  other  three  as  a  contrast  with 
this.  Their  life  is  not  taken  away  ; 
their  bodies  are  not  "  destroyed  and 
given  to  the  burning  flame ;"  they  enjoy 
a  prolongation  of  life.  What  can  this 
mean,  but  that  the  governments  and  peo- 
ple of  these  kingdoms  continue,  whilst 
the  catholic  power  is  utterly  removed 
from  them  and  deposited  with  the  fourth 
beast.  But  in  the  season  appointed,  this 
concentration  of  religious  and  civil  au- 
thority in  the  same  hands,  which  con- 
stitutes the  very  spirit,  principle,  and 
foundation  of  the  great  persecuting 
power, — the  antichrist, — shall  be  en- 
tirely abrogated.  It  will  not  pass  out 
from  the  fourth  beast, — out  of  the  Eu- 
ropean nations  and  reappear  in  some 
other  body, — in  some  other  despot, 
uniting  in  himself  many  nations  ;  but 
it  will  cease  for  ever,  and  give  place  to 
another  principle  of  rule  altogether  dif- 
ferent. The  dominion  is  given  to  Prince 
Messiah,  "  and  glory  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages 
should  serve  him."     At  that  time  the 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


body  of  the  fourth  beast,  the  European 
kingdoms,  that  constituted  his  physical 
strength,  shall  be  utterly  destroyed  ;  that 
is,  the  governments  and  the  whole  of 
society  shall  be  entirely  dissolved,  and 
resolved  into  their  original  elements,  as 
metals  are  by  the  burning  flame;  and 
out  of  the  fires  of  this  revolution  shall 
arise  a  new  order  of  society,  the  king- 
dom of  Messiah.  It  was  not  thus  with 
the  other  three.  After  the  dominion,  the 
politico-ecclesiastico-persecuting  power 
was  taken  away,  they  continued  as  king- 
doms or  provinces,  under  the  same  gene- 
ral principles  of  government,  and  the 
same  general  organization,  and  are  so 
until  the  present  hour. 

One  difficulty  still  remains.  It  re- 
gards the  latter  part  of  verse  12  :  "Yet 
their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season 
and  time."  Concerning  this  Poole  gives 
the  correct  idea.  There  is  granted  to 
the  three,  a  prolongation  of  life  after  the 
dominion  is  taken  away,  even  until  the 
season  and  time.  The  language  de- 
scribes, not  properly  and  directly,  though 
implied  by,  the  length  of  duration  ;  but 
it  refers  to  a  terminating  period.  The 
words  are  different  from  those  used  in 
xii.  7,  where  duration  is  marked.  These 
signify  appointed  seasons  ;  and  doubtless 
refer  to  the  same  period  which  brings  to 
a  close  the  fife  of  the  fourth  beast ;  when 
he  shall  be  slain  and  his  body  be  given 
to  the  burning  flame.  The  whole  twelfth 
verse,  therefore,  describes  the  continu- 
ance of  the  same  order  of  things  within 
the  kingdoms  embraced  by  the  bodies  of 
the  first  three  beasts,  as  before  the  ca- 
tholic power  passed  westward  ;  with  this 
exception  only,  that  the  universal  supre- 
macy is  no  longer  theirs  ;  and  this  order 
will  continue  until  the  time  when  anti- 
christ shall  be  destroyed,  and  the  king- 
dom of  the  little  stone  become  the  king- 
dom of  the  great  mountain. 

We  proceed  now  to  inquire  for  the 
kingdoms  symbolized  by  the  ten  horns 
and  the  ten  toes.  On  this  subject  there 
is  some  diversity  of  opinion,  as  to  what 
powers  precisely  constituted  the  ten 
horns.  There  is,  however,  a  very 
general  agreement,  that  the  Western 
Roman  Empire,  the  body  of  the  fourth 


beast,  was  divided  into  ten  kingdoms. 
We  are  to  look  for  these  in  the  Western, 
which  is  the  only  proper  Roman  Em- 
pire ;  it  being  obviously  improper  to 
call  the  Greek  Empire  at  Constantinople 
the  Roman  Empire ;  because,  from  its 
very  commencement,  it  was  a  rival  to 
Rome,  and  was  the  most  hated  by  the 
Romans  of  any  city  or  government  in 
the  world.  This  reason  alone  ought  to 
exclude  the  Greek  from  the  catalogue  of 
kings  springing  up  out  of  the  Roman 
Empire  :  and  together  with  that  added 
by  Sir  Isaac  Newton ;  that  Constanti- 
nople is  without  and  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  fourth  beast  and  within  the  body 
of  the  third,  or  Greek  Empire,  is  to  us 
perfectly  conclusive.  It  must,  with  any 
candid  and  intelligent  mind, — with  every 
mind  that  is  not  warped  by  sinister  mo- 
tives from  the  path  of  honest  exposition, 
set  aside  entirely  the  fond  interpretation 
of  Porphyry,  Grotius,  and  the  Roman- 
ists, that  the  ten  kingdoms,  or  horns, 
are  ten  of  the  individual  kings  of  Syria 
and  Egypt,  five  of  each.  In  refuting 
this  absurd  exposition,  as  he  does  most 
triumphantly,  Bishop  Newton  appeals  to 
the  interpretation  given  by  the  fathers 
of  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  and 
among  others  quotes  Jerome  (i.  173). 
"  St.  Jerome  having  refuted  Porphyry's 
notion  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  being 
the  little  horn,  concludes  thus  :  '  There- 
fore let  us  say  what  all  ecclesiastical 
writers  have  delivered,  that  in  the  latter 
days,  when  the  empire  of  the  Romans 
shall  be  destroyed,  there  will  be  ten 
kings  who  shall  divide  it  between  them, 
and  an  eleventh  shall  arise,  a  little  king, 
who  shall  subdue  three  of  the  ten  kings, 
and  the  other  seven  shall  submit  their 
necks  to  the  conqueror.'  "  Now  when 
we  remember  that  Jerome  wrote  in  the 
fourth  century,  before  matters  in  the 
empire  gave  much  evidence  of  approach- 
ing dissolution  and  dismemberment  ; 
after  the  age  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
about  five  hundred  years ;  and  before 
the  rise  of  any  of  the  ten  horns,  we 
must  perceive  good  and  strong  reason  to 
suppose  his  interpretation  unprejudiced 
and  true ;  as  it  was  the  received  opinion 
in  the  church  in   that  and  subsequent 


LECTURE  VII. 


69 


ages.  Jerome  says  all  ecclesiastical 
writers  have  maintained  this  exposition, 
and  Augustine  afterwards  sanctioned  it. 

But  our  main  dependence  is  not  on 
the  authority  of  expositors  ;  but  on  the 
plain  and  evident  meaning  of  the  pro- 
phet ;  to  which  we  are  shut  up  by  fol- 
lowing his  chain  of  facts  and  comparing 
them  with  history.  No  other  exposition 
can  be  made  consistent  with  itself,  much 
less  with  the  text  of  Daniel. 

What  then  are  the  ten  kingdoms 
which  must  rise  up,  and  which  did  rise 
up,  in  the  Roman  Empire? 

Machiavelli,  a  very  learned  Roman 
Catholic  writer,  has  given  the  following 
enumeration  of  the  ten  kingdoms  : 

1.  The  Ostrogoths  in  Mesia. 

2.  The  Visigoths  in  Pannonia. 

3.  The  Sueves  and  Albans  in  Gas- 
coine  and  Spain. 

4.  The  Vandals  in  Africa. 

5.  The  Franks  in  France. 

6.  The  Burgundians  in  Burgundy. 

7.  The  Heruli  and  Turingi,  in  Italy. 

8.  The  Saxons  and  Angles  in  Britain. 

9.  The  Huns  in  Hungary. 

10.  The  Lombards  on  the  Danube 
and  in  Italy. 

Bishop  Newton  quotes  the  catalogues 
of  other  commentators,  differing  in  some 
little  degree  from  one  another.  Into  the 
minute  detail  we  shall  not  now  enter. 
This  same  subject  must  come  up  again  ; 
when  we  shall  discuss  the  New  Testa- 
ment prophecies  relative  to  the  first  five 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era ;  or  the 
seals  and  the  trumpets  of  the  Revela- 
tions ;  and  then  with  the  prophets  we 
must  dwell  more  on  particulars.  It  may 
be  well,  however,  to  present  the  list 
given  by  Bishop  Lloyd,  as  he  has  ap- 
pended the  dates  of  their  rise  : 

1.  The  Huns,  in  356. 

2.  The  Ostrogoths,  in  377. 

3.  The  Visigoths,  in  378. 

4.  The  Franks,  in  407. 

5.  The  Vandals,  in  407. 

6.  The  Sueves,  in  407. 

7.  The  Burgundians,  in  407. 

8.  The  Herulians  and  Turingians, 
in  476. 

9.  The  Saxons,  in  476. 

10.  The  Longobards,  in  527. 


If  the  English  prelate  be  correct  as  to 
dates,  we  have  another  illustration  of  the 
arrangements  of  Providence,  whereby 
the  depository  of  power  is  prepared  for 
its  reception  before  the  actual  transfer 
of  it  from  one  to  another  ;  and  also'of 
the  gradual  transition.  We  have  already 
noticed  that  the  change  from  the  third 
to  the  fourth  monarchy  was  not  instanta- 
neous ;  but  extended  over  a  space  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  years.  So 
here,  the  power  is  to  be  divided  into  ten 
parts ;  but  not  all  at  once.  The  ten 
kingdoms  come  into  being  in  a  measure 
successively.  Indeed,  as  we  shall  see, 
there  is  a  great  difference  in  regard  to 
their  duration :  three  are  to  be  plucked 
up  before  the  eleventh  :  so  that  the  ten 
exist  but  a  very  short  time  together. 

It  has  been  often  remarked  that  about 
the  same  number  of  distinct  kingdoms 
has  existed  in  Roman  Europe  in  every 
age  since.  The  plucking  up  of  three  at 
an  early  period  was  followed  by  the 
establishment  of  others. 

That  commentators  differ  slightly  as 
to  some  of  these  kingdoms,  is  no  sub- 
stantial objection  to  the  just  adaptation 
of  history  and  prophecy.  Were  the 
histories  more  complete  and  our  know- 
ledge of  them  perfect,  we  would  no 
doubt  differ  less,  if  any  whatever,  in  the 
application.  The  agreement  of  history 
and  prophecy,  is  sufficient  ground  for 
our  belief,  and  fully  justifies  the  inference, 
that  minor  differences  are  the  resultof  our 
ignorance.  And  be  it  remembered,  the 
variations  are  small;  and  are  chiefly  the 
result  of  time.  In  such  a  fluctuating 
state  of  the  nations,  a  few  years  later  or 
earlier,  as  to  the  period  of  making  the 
enumeration,  may  account  for  much  of 
this.  Bishop  Newton  takes  the  eighth 
century,  and  of  course  will  differ  from 
most  others,  in  one  or  two  points.  But 
the  kingdoms  have  always  been  about 
the  same  in  number,  and  continue  so  to 
this  time.  We  have  England,  France, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Belgium,  Holland,  Prus- 
sia, Austria,  Sardinia,  Naples, — ten,  and 
the  Papal  kingdom  proper, — eleven  :  or 
throw  Belgium  and  Holland  together  and 
take  in  the  Barbary  States. 

Thus  we  have  arrived  at  the  ten  toes 


70 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


of  the  giant  image.  It  is  a  fact  unde- 
niable, that  the  body  of  the  fourth  beast, 
— the  Western  Roman  Empire,  was  and 
is  divided  into  ten  kingdoms,  as  it  was 
foretold  two  thousand  four  hundred  years 
ag*o,  that  it  should  be. 

The  little  horn  must  be  reserved  as 
the  subject  of  a  subsequent  lecture. 
We  close  the  present  with  a  brief  re- 
flection. 

In  the  present  moral  state  of  man,  a 
concentration  of  powers  must  ever  prove 
fatal  to  liberty.  This  is  true  even  when 
by  powers,  we  mean  civil  dominion  over 
extensive  countries,  much  more,  when 
we  comprehend  in  it  the  religious  domi- 
nation, or  the  influence  which  the  use  or 
abuse  of  this  principle,  gives  to  man 
over  the  conscience  of  his  fellow-man. 
Let  these  coalesce  with  the  sword  into 
one  complex  power,  and  the  mass  of 
men  must  be  subservient  to  it. 

We  see  how  the  study  of  the  Bible 
leads  to  general  knowledge.  In  the 
case  before  us,  it  is  obvious  that  pro- 
phetic exposition  is  impossible,  without 
an  acquaintance  with  history  and  geo- 
graphy. The  same  is  true  in  regard  to 
most  branches  of  science  ;  so  that  the 
business  of  biblical  interpretation  cre- 
ates a  necessity  for  general  intelligence. 
Thus  the  sacred  Bible  becomes  the  text 
book  for  universal  instruction,  and  the 
church  and  her  ministry  the  light  of  the 
world. 


LECTURE  VIII. 
Daniel  viii.  9-12,  23-26. 

We  have  followed  down  the  system 
of  despotism,  till  we  find  it  enthroned 
in  the  seat  of  the  Caesars,  the  city  of 
seven  hills.  This  incarnation  of  it,  in 
the  fourth  beast,  was  completed,  when 
Egypt,  the  last  of  the  four  heads  of  the 
Macedonian  leopard,  became  a  Roman 
province,  thirty-one  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  We  have  gone  farther. 
In  contravention  of  the  chronological 
order,  which  we  think  it  best  should  in 
general  be   followed,  we  have  glanced 


forward  to  the  suppression  of  the  impe- 
rial form  of  the  despotism,  and  the  re- 
vival of  the  regal  form,  in  the  ten  king- 
doms, symbolized  by  the  ten  toes  of  the 
giant.  It  has  already  been  intimated, 
that  the  intermediate  space  of  about  five 
hundred  years,  is  not  without  special 
prophecies.  Nevertheless,  we  will  profit 
in  the  matter  of  perspicuity,  by  continu- 
ing a  general  outline  of  the  history,  and 
again  returning,  and  under  the  guidance 
of  the  apostle  John,  inspecting  in  detail 
the  same  ground.  This  will  we  do  in 
considering  the  apocalyptic  seals.  Let 
us  therefore  pursue  the  sketch  somewhat 
farther  still.  You  are  anxious,  doubt- 
less, to  know  something  about  the  little 
horn  of  the  he  goat  and  the  little  horn 
of  the  fourth  beast.  What  power  or 
powers  do  they  represent  ?  Are  they 
emblems  of  one  and  the  same  1  Where 
is  its,  or  their,  location  ?  What  historical 
facts  can  be  found  correspondent  with 
the  symbols  1 

These  are  inquiries  exceedingly  natu- 
ral, and  of  all-absorbing  interest.  No 
person  can,  with  any  thing  like  justice 
to  himself  and  his  country,  read  the 
journals  of  the  day  relative  to  great 
national  policy  and  movements,  until  he 
has  the  true  answers  to  these  questions. 
National  politics  lie  hid  from  him  who 
has  not  a  general  understanding  of  these 
subjects.  The  changes  of  empire  are  to 
such  a  man  all  enigmas,  all  confusion. 
But  to  the  intelligent  reader  of  Daniel 
and  of  John,  every  thing  is  plain.  His 
eye  sees  the  finger  of  heaven  directing 
all  the  agitations  of  earth  to  the  grand 
result, — the  breaking  up  of  the  image 
and  the  magnifying  of  the  little  stone 
into  the  great  mountain. 

Let  us  therefore  address  ourselves  to 
the  good  work  of  answering  these  ques- 
tions. Which  then  of  the  little  horns 
should  we  first  consider  1  Doubtless 
that  which  has  the  priority  in  point  of 
time.  But  they  are,  when  viewed 
through  the  eye  of  chronology,  equal  ; 
they  synchronize.  That  then,  which, 
examined  with  the  eye  of  history,  is 
nearest  as  to  place,  is  the  one  which 
claims  precedence.  Pursuing  their 
course,  we  must  attend  first  to  the  little 


LECTURE  VIII. 


71 


horn  of  the  Macedonian  goat,  because, 
geographically,  he  lies  nearer  to  the 
goat  himself  than  he  does  to  the  fourth 
beast. 

The  horn  is  thus  described  :  "  And 
out  of  one  of  them  came  forth  a  little 
horn,  which  waxed  exceeding  great,  to- 
ward the  south  and  toward  the  east,  and 
toward  the  pleasant  land.  And  it  waxed 
great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven,  and  it 
cast  down  some  of  the  host  and  of  the 
stars  to  the  ground,  and  stamped  upon 
them.  Yea,  he  magnified  himself  even 
to  the  prince  of  the  host,  and  by  him  the 
daily  sacrifice  was  taken  away,  and  the 
place  of  his  sanctuary  was  cast  down. 
And  an  host  was  given  him  against  the 
daily  sacrifice,  by  reason  of  transgres- 
sion, and  it  cast  down  the  truth  to  the 
ground  ;  and  it  practised  and  prosper- 
ed." (Verses  9-12.) 

In  verses  23  to  26  we  have  Gabriel's 
explanation  of  this  figure  ;  in  which  note, 

1.  "Its  rise  is  in  the  latter  time  of 
their  kingdoms."  (Verse  23.)  Now  the 
antecedent  to  their  is  unquestionably  the 
four  kingdoms  symbolized  by  the  four 
horns  of  the  he  goat.  "  In  the  latter 
time"  of  the  four  kingdoms  shall  it  arise. 
This  construction  would  lead  us  to  ex- 
pect the  king  of  "  fierce  countenance" 
to  appear  at  or  near  the  close  of  the 
Egyptian  kingdom,  or  shortly  before  the 
Christian  era. 

But  here  we  feel  disposed  to  venture 
a  criticism  on  the  phrase  "  in  the  latter 
time."  The  original  word  signifies  after, 
— afterwards, — the  last  part ;  and  may 
refer  to  place  and  things,  as  well  as  to 
time.  Accordingly,  it  is  translated,  pos- 
terity, in  Ps.  cix.  13  :  "  Let  his  posterity 
(those  that  came  after  him)  be  cut  off." 
It  means  place,  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  9  :  "  and 
dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea." 
If  we  take  this  precise  translation  and 
apply  it  in  the  case  before  us,  this  clause 
of  the  verse  will  describe  the  place  and 
not  the  time,  "  And  in  the  uttermost 
part  of  their  kingdom,"  which,  indeed, 
would  suit  better  to  the  symbols  as  men- 
tioned in  verse  9,  where  the  localit}^  is 
pointed  out.  "  And  out  of  one  of  the 
horns  came  forth  a  little  horn,  which 
waxed     exceeding     great    toward    the 


south."  Now  the  uttermost  part  of  one 
of  these  kingdoms — of  Egypt — was  Ara- 
bia. The  whole  of  Arabia  indeed  was 
never  subject  to  Egypt,  but  parts  of  it 
were.  Is  it  not  therefore  most  reason- 
able to  expect  the  angel,  in  his  explana- 
tion, to  refer  to  locality,  when  locality  is 
so  obviously  referred  to  in  the  context 
he  explains  1  But,  unless  we  take  this 
term  as  such  reference,  there  is  none  in 
Gabriel's  interpretation.  He  loses  sight 
of  locality  altogether.  We  therefore 
venture  this  as  a  new  exposition  of  the 
term,  in  this  place;  but  not  new  in 
itself,  for  it  occurs  in  the  Psalm  just 
quoted.  As  there,  it  reads,  "  in  the 
uttermost  parts,"  so  here,  in  the  utter- 
most parts — in  the  extreme  part  of  their 
kingdom,  that  is,  the  kingdom  of  one  of 
them  ;  for  verse  9,  the  little  horn  "  came 
forth  out  of  one  of  them." 

A  farther  consideration  shutting  us  up 
to  this  interpretation  is,  the  difficulty 
which  the  other  creates  in  the  chrono- 
logy ;  for  if  the  word  refers  to  time,  it 
cannot  naturally  be  construed,  in  con- 
sistency with  the  other  points  of  the  con- 
text. It  would  call  upon  us  to  fix  the 
date  a  little  before  the  Christian  era  ; 
whereas  all  the  leading  facts  direct  us 
to  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century; 
a  period  six  hundred  and  fifty  years 
farther  down. 

Another  circumstance  bearing  on  the 
question  of  locality,  and  in  consequence, 
indirectly  upon  that  of  date,  is,  the  rela- 
tive direction  of  the  little  horn,  "  toward 
the  south  and  toward  the  east  and  to- 
ward the  pleasant  land."  Those  who 
maintain  that  the  little  horn  here,  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  fourth  beast,  and 
that  both  symbolize  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes,  king  of  Syria,  will  have  to  explain 
how,  "  toward  the  south  and  toward  the 
pleasant  land,"  that  is,  Judea,  can  be 
both  used  with  propriety ;  seeing  the 
pleasant  land  lies  directly  south  of  An- 
tioch,  the  seat  of  Syrian  power;  so  that 
toward  the  south  and  toward  the  plea- 
sant land  must  mean  the  same  thing. 
But  if  the  little  horn  springs  up  out  of 
the  uttermost  southern  part  of  the  Egyp- 
tian horn,  the  great  Arabian  peninsula, 
then  we  perceive  what  is  meant.     The 


72 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


power  intended  became  formidable  to- 
ward the  south,  and  then  moved  east- 
ward, and  then  directed  its  course  north- 
ward towards  the  pleasant  land.  We 
shall  see  in  our  detailed  history,  that 
this  accords  exactly  with  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  Mohammedan  imposture. 
It  sprang  up  in  southern  Arabia,  and 
having  become  strong  by  conquest  there, 
pushed  eastward  across  the  deserts  as 
far  as  to  the  lower  Euphratean  valley, 
and  turned  back  upon  Palestine. 

Our  next  remark  relates  to  time: 
"  When  the  transgressors  are  come  to 
the  full,"  literally,  "  And  about  the  per- 
fecting or  completion  of  the  revolvers." 
Just  at  the  period  when  frequent  risings 
against  the  existing  government  of  the 
beast  shall  be  completing  the  work  of 
wresting  the  dominion  from  him,  there 
shall  appear  in  an  outskirt,  on  the  south 
of  one  of  the  four  horns  of  the  Goat,  a 
new  power. 

Now  the  revolters  here,  we  presume 
to  affirm,  in  opposition  to  all  commenta- 
toi-s,  as  far  as  we  know,  are  the  founders 
of  the  ten  kingdoms  within  the  various 
provinces  of  the  western  or  Roman  em- 
pire. These  revolters,  it  has  already 
been  shown,  began  to  make  great  and 
serious  inroads  upon  the  imperial  power 
from  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century 
onward,  until  after  the  deposition  of  the 
last  Csesar,  in  476,  and  we  may  add, 
until  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century. 
But  they  were  considerably  matured  in 
the  beginning  of  it;  and  about  that  time 
we  may  look  for  the  rise  of  this  little 
horn.  Accordingly,  Mohammedism  be- 
gan to  bud  into  being  in  A.  D.  606. 

Another  insuperable  objection  against 
the  application  of  the  little  horn  to  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes,  is  the  expression, 
*'  he  waxed  exceeding  great."  This  is 
not  true  by  any  means  :  he  was  not  a 
great  prince,  nor  did  he  enlarge  the  Sy- 
rian kingdom  at  all.  It  was  weaker  in 
his,  than  in  his  father's  hands.  And 
there  is  a  still  further  objection.  The 
Syrian  kingdom  is  beyond  doubt,  one, 
and  a  chief  one,  of  the  four  horns ;  and 
yet  Antiochus  is  the  little  horn  ;  the 
little  horn  grows  out  of  itself!  This  is 
an  utter  abandonment  of  the  fixedness 


of  the  symbols,  and  cannot  be  admitted 
without  introducing  endless  confusion. 

Again,  the  chronological  question  is 
seriously  affected  by  the  inquiry  pro- 
pounded in  verse  13,  and  answered  in 
verse  14.  "  Then  I  heard  one  saint 
speaking,  and  another  saint  said  unto 
that  certain  saint  which  spake,  '  How 
long  shall  be  the  vision  concerning  the 
daily  sacrifice  and  the  transgression  of 
desolation,  to  give  both  the  sanctuary 
and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot  ?'" 

The  accuracy  of  a  response  depends 
very  much  upon  an  accurate  understand- 
ing of  the  question.  "  If  the  trumpet 
give  an  uncertain  sound  who  shall  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  battle?"  If  we 
mistake  the  meaning  of  a  question,  how 
is  it  possible  for  us  to  return  a  right  an- 
swer? What  does  this  holy  one  wish 
to  know?  He  has  just  been  listening  to 
a  description  of  the  prostrate  condition 
of  religion  and  the  most  melancholy  de- 
pression of  its  friends.  A  fierce  and 
relentless  foe  triumphs  over  all  that  is 
sacred ;  the  sanctuary  is  trodden  down 
and  the  sacrifices  are  abandoned ;  few 
come  to  the  solemn  feasts  of  Zion. 
How  long  shall  this  last  ?  What  and 
when  shall  be  the  end  of  these  desola- 
tions? Will  Zion  be  forever  cast  down 
and  trampled  under  foot?  And  if  not, 
when  shall  be  the  end  of  her  distresses? 
How  long  shall  it  be  before  she  will  lift 
up  her  head  and  rejoice  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  her  enemies  ?  That  this  is  the 
precise  point  of  the  inquiry,  the  latter 
part  of  the  response  makes  indubitable ; 
"  then  shall  the  sanctuary  be  cleansed." 
The  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary  is  the 
removal  of  all  unjust  and  oppressive 
profanation  and  pollution.  How  long 
shall  it  be  until  that  time?  The  answer 
is,  "  Unto  two  thousand  and  three  hun- 
dred days."  The  Septuagint  has  two 
thousand  four  hundred  days,  and  Mr. 
Faber,  who  has  given  us  the  true  inter- 
pretation here,  mentions  that  Jerome 
gave  two  thousand  nnd  two  hundred, 
as  a  reading  in  his  day.  It  is  difficult, 
as  it  frequently  happens  in  the  slight 
variations  of  the  manuscript  texts,  to 
determine  which  is  the  correct  reading. 
In  the  absence  of  other  means  of  de- 


LECTURE  VIII. 


73 


ciding  this  question,  we  cannot  do  better 
than  search  for  events  or  other  dates 
corresponding  to  this,  and  thus  fix  the 
time  of  beginning  this  period  of  two 
thousand  two,  three,  or  four  hundred 
days  or  years. 

The  most  natural  time  for  the  com- 
mencement of  this  period  is  the  opening 
of  the  vision  of  which  it  is  a  part  :  not 
the  date  or  time  when  Daniel  saw  the 
vision  ;  but  when  history  began  to  fulfil 
prophecy  :  in  other  words,  when  the  war 
of  the  ram  and  the  he  goat  commenced. 
In  that  war  the  first  blow  was  struck, 
B.  C.  334,  in  the  battle  of  the  Granicus. 
If  then  we  run  down  two  thousand  two 
hundred  years,  according  to  Jerome's 
reading,  we  shall  come  to  the  year  of 
our  Lord,  1866,  and  if  we  deduct  from 
1866  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years,  during  which  the  saints  shall  be 
given  into  the  power  of  the  little  horn  of 
Daniel's  fourth  beast,  it  will  bring  us 
back  to  A.  D.  606 ;  which  is  the  very 
year  that  Mohammed  retired  to  the  cave 
of  Heira,  to  concoct  the  Koran  ;  and  in 
which  the  Emperor  Phocas  declared 
Boniface  III.,  bishop  of  Rome,  to  be  uni- 
versal bishop.  Here  then  we  have  two 
great  and  most  interesting  events  occur- 
ring in  the  same  year ;  the  first  decided 
movement  of  Mohammed,  the  Arabian 
impostor ;  and  the  authoritative  procla- 
mation of  the  pope  as  universal  bishop, 
by  which  the  emperor  gave  the  saints 
into  his  power.  These  meet  in  the  same 
point,  A.  D.  606.  Then,  as  we  shall 
see  most  abundantly,  in  its  proper  order 
of  time,  the  church  universal  is  to  be 
trampled  to  the  earth,  and  ground  down 
by  her  oppressive  and  tyrannical  foes 
for  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  : — 
in  the  east  by  the  Mohammedan  and  in 
the  west  by  the  papal  apostacy.  Thus 
we  are  brought  to  A.  D.  1866  :  thence 
back  to  the  battle  of  the  Granicus,  B.  C. 
334,  when  the  curtain  rose  and  the  first 
act  of  the  drama  was  presented.  This 
triple  concurrence  of  dates  and  numbers 
must  strike  every  mind,  and  operate  a 
powerful  extraneous  influence  upon  the 
question  of  the  correct  reading. 

Should  we  however  begin  these  years 
from  the  date  of  the  vision,  B.  C.  552, 

10 


then  two  thousand  and  four  hundred 
years,  the  reading  of  the  Septuagint, 
would  bring  us  down  to  A.  D.  1848 ;  that 
of  the  Hebrew  text  to  1748  ;  and  that  of 
Jerome  to  A.  D.  1648.  Neither  of  the 
last  two  dates  presents  us  with  such  his- 
torical facts  as  the  language  before  us 
demands.  Surely  the  sanctuary  has  not 
been  cleansed, — has  not  been  justified, 
as  the  Hebrew  means, — has  not  been 
restored  to  all  its  rights,  these  ninety- 
three  years,  or  these  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  years  past.  Surely  Antichrist  has 
not  been  slain  for  either  of  these  periods. 
Surely  we  are  not  advanced  two  centu- 
ries upon  the  period  of  the  church's 
triumphs.  But  if  we  take  Jerome's  read- 
ing, and  date  from  the  opening  of  the 
scene,  B.  C.  334,  we  come  down  to 
A.  D.  1866, — a  point  of  time  in  which 
the  rays  of  prophetic  truth  do,  and 
doubtless  those  of  historic  light  will, 
converge  to  a  focus,  whence  they  will 
diverge,  and  be  lost  in  the  rays  of  mil- 
lennial glory. 

These  are,  very  briefly,  our  reasons 
for  believing,  with  Bishop  Faber,  that 
the  little  horn  of  the  he  goat  is  the  Mo- 
hammedan imposture,  and  not  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  apostacy.  Bishop  Newton, 
in  maintaining  this  latter,  is  far  astray ; 
and  is  inconsistent  with  himself.  For 
he  maintains,  with  Sir  Isaac,  that  as  the 
body  of  the  third  beast  is  to  be  looked 
for  on  this  side  the  Euphrates,  so  the 
body  of  the  fourth  is  to  be  looked  for  on 
this  side  Greece :  and  he  therefore 
throws  the  Constantinopolitan  empire 
out  from  the  number  of  the  ten  horns 
of  the  fourth  beast.  For  obviously,  if 
the  locality  of  Constantinople  excludes 
it  from  being  a  horn  of  the  fourth  beast, 
the  locality  of  the  papacy  must  exclude  ' 
it  from  being  the  little  horn  of  the  third 
beast. 

Commentators  have  been  led  into  this 
error,  by  the  similarity  of  language  used 
in  application  to  these  two  horns :  not 
remembering  that,  as  the  church  in  the 
east  and  the  church  in  the  west  both 
fell  into  idolatry,  though  in  different 
forms,  and  both  needed  chastisement, 
the  instruments  for  chastising  them 
might  therefore  bear  a  resemblance  to 


74 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


each  other  in  their  movement,  and  yet 
be  still  entirely  distinct.  Similar  is  the 
error  and  its  cause  in  applying  the 
phrase,  "the  abomination  of  desolation" 
wherever  it  occurs,  to  one  and  the  same 
transaction  ;  whereas  the  scriptures  use 
it  in  reference  to  three  distinct  profana- 
tions of  the  most  sacred  things  of  the 
church  ; — that  by  the  Syrian  arms  un- 
der Antiochus  Epiphanes  ;  by  the  Ro- 
mans under  Titus;  and  by  the  pollutions 
of  the  papacy.  Let  us  not  be  led  away 
by  similarity  of  terms,  if  they  may  ne- 
vertheless be  applied  to  different,  but 
resembling  objects. 

Such  are  the  two  horns  in  question. 
They  belong  to  different  animals  ;  but 
both  are  beasts.  They  are  both  de- 
structive foes  of  the  church  ;  both 
raised  up  to  scourge  her  for  her  sins  ; 
is  it  a  matter  of  surprise  therefore,  that 
they  should  be  both  characterized  by 
the  same  signs  and  the  same  language  ? 
Why  should  we  not  rather  expect  such 
similarity?  Why  should  we,  because 
of  it,  attempt  to  break  off  the  horn  from 
the  Macedonian  Goat  and  transfer  it  to 
the  Roman  beast  ?  On  the  contrary, 
let  us  endeavour  to  expound  the  symbol 
and  the  language  consistently  with  each 
other  and  with  the  prophecy.  To  this 
we  now  proceed. 

Here  however,  you  are  not  to  expect 
much  detail  in  regard  to  the  Mohamme- 
dan imposture ;  nor  can  we  run  down 
the  history  very  far,  because  another 
opportunity  will  press  itself  upon  us, 
when  we  cannot  deal  honestly  with  the 
text  without  extended  detail.  In  follow- 
ing Daniel,  we  shall  simply  present  a 
general  outline. 

The  early  locality  of  the  Mohamme- 
dan power  was  in  the  vast  Arabian  pe- 
ninsula, on  the  southwest  of  Asia.  This 
peninsula  is  separated  from  Africa,  by 
the  isthmus  of  Suez  and  the  Red  Sea. 
It  is  about  eighteen  hundred  miles  long 
and  nine  hundred  broad.  It  was  at  an 
early  period  settled  by  the  descendants 
of  Ham,  the  youngest  of  Noah's  sons, 
and  was  known,  at  least  the  northwest- 
ern part  of  it,  to  the  Old  Testament  wri- 
ters under  the  name  of  Cush,  translated 
in  our  English  Bibles,  Ethiopia  ;  as  the 


name  of  Mizraim,  another  of  Ham's 
sons,  is  the  Hebrew  name  of  Egypt. 
A  third  gave  name  to  Canaan.  We 
find,  (Gen.  x.  7,)  Seba,  Havilah,  Sabta, 
Raamah  and  Sabtecha,  mentioned  as 
sons  of  Cush,  and  the  names  of  places 
in  Arabia  are  called  after  them  in  mo- 
dern times.  Nimrod,  also  the  founder 
of  the  first  empire,  was  a  son  of  Cush. 

But  in  a  subsequent  age  a  different 
blood  was  thrown  in  upon  the  Arabian 
desert.  Here  Ishmael  and  his  bastard 
race  took  up  their  abode.  He  was 
partly  a  Hamite  ;  his  mother  being  a 
descendant  of  Mizraim,  an  Egyptian  ; 
so  that  the  coalition  of  Ishmael  with  the 
Arabians  was  a  reunion  of  the  blood. 
The  twelve  princes  of  this  race,  sons  of 
Ishmael,  took  possession  of  the  entire 
broad  neck  of  the  isthmus,  from  the  head 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Isthmus  of 
Suez  :  as  is  evident  from  Gen.  xxv.  13- 
18,  where,  after  giving  their  names,  it 
is  said,  "  they  dwelt  from  Havilah  to 
Shur  that  is  before  Egypt ;  as  thou 
goest  towards  Assyria."  Now  Assyria 
lay  on  the  Euphrates,  and  extended 
down  that  river,  when  the  empire  was 
in  its  glory,  to  the  Persian  Gulf;  and 
Havilah  was  on  the  Pison,  (Gen.  ii. 
11,)  a  part  of  the  Euphrates.  Thence 
Ishmael's  descendants  spread  southward, 
and  mixed  with  others  of  Cush's  de- 
scendants. The  Arabian  writers, — pro- 
totypes of  modern  novelists,  and  about 
as  profitable  to  mankind, — maintain  that 
Mohammed  was  a  direct  lineal  descen- 
dant of  Ishmael,  and  they  give  the  gene- 
alogy in  full. 

Into  these  regions,  and  especially 
along  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea,  many 
of  the  Jews  penetrated  during  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity,  and  also  toward  the 
latter  periods  of  the  Syrian  kingdom, 
when  Jerusalem  was  greatly  harassed 
by  the  border  wars  between  the  Seleu- 
cidse  and  the  Lagidse :  and  also  during 
the  early  periods  of  the  Roman  oppres- 
sion. We  find  therefore  among  the 
strangers  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
Arabians  ;  some  of  whom  were  on  that 
day  converted  to  the  gospel.  (Acts  iii. 
11.)  They  returned  home,  carrying  the 
gospel  with  them  :  and  as  is  more  than 


LECTURE  VIII. 


75 


probable,  Paul  performed  his  first, — his 
three  years'  mission  to  them,  as  he  states 
in  Gal.  i.  17.  These  Arabian  Jews,  like 
all  others,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  per- 
forming pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem  which 
the  laws  of  Moses  required.  This  cus- 
tom, it  is  highly  probable,  suggested  the 
idea  of  establishing  a  consecrated  city  in 
Arabia  itself;  as  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Ne- 
bat,  to  prevent  his  people  from  resorting 
to  Jerusalem,  set  up  an  altar  at  Dan  and 
another  at  Bethel,  (1  Kings  xii.  27.) 
Local  interests  and  jealousies  might 
combine  to  create  around  Mecca  an 
artificial  sanctity,  similar  to  that  of 
Jerusalem.  But  be  the  cause  what  it 
may,  certain  it  is,  that  the  Caaba,  or 
sacred  temple  at  Mecca,  was  venerated, 
and  pilgrimages  made  to  it,  centuries 
before  Mohammed  was  born.  Their 
fable,  believed  by  all  true  Mussulmans, 
is,  that  it  was  first  built  of  stone  by 
Adam ;  that  it  was  destroyed  by  the 
flood  ;  and  rebuilt  by  Abraham  and  his 
son  Ishmael,  at  the  command  of  God. 
(See  Univ.  Hist.  xvi.  260.) 

Besides  Paul,  Bartholomew  the  apostle 
performed  a  mission  into  this  country, 
visiting  the  converts,  founding  churches, 
and  extending  Christianity  with  great 
success.  Almost  the  whole  of  northern 
Arabia  was  traversed  by  the  heralds  of 
mercy  :  and  Petra  was  the  residence  of 
a  primitive  bishop,  that  is,  a  pastor  of  a 
regular  church.  In  the  first,  second, 
and  third  centuries,  the  western  regions 
received  the  gospel  ;  and  among  others, 
Origen  of  Alexandria,  at  the  request  of 
an  Arabian  prince,  performed  a  tour 
along  the  sea-board.  It  is  highly  pro- 
bable that  the  purity  of  the  churches 
suffered  from  his  visit :  for  he  had  already 
run  into  some  heretical  speculations : 
and  his  philosophy  is  known  to  have 
had  a  very  corrupting  influence.  About 
these  times,  slowly  and  gradually,  in 
this  and  most  sections  of  the  eastern 
churches,  were  introduced  pictures  of 
saints ;  first,  possibly,  into  private  houses, 
then  into  the  churches;  first  as  evidences 
of  respect ;  then  as  objects  of  veneration ; 
afterwards  as  helps,  and  lastly  as  objects 
of  devotion. 

But   the   chief  cause   of  that   fearful 


declension  for  which  God  raised  up  this 
horn  of  destructive  power,  was  the  Arian 
heresy,  which  denies  the  proper  divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Origen's  speculations 
probably  led  to  this.  It  spread  over  a 
great  part  of  the  East,  and  was  followed, 
as  its  kindred  heresies  always  have 
been,  by  a  decline  of  piety.  This  was 
the  fruitful  source  of  many  minor  here- 
sies, that  distracted,  rent,  and  polluted 
the  church.  The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth 
centuries  might  well  be  denominated  the 
age  of  heresies :  for  {ew  errors,  if  any, 
have  ever  harassed  the  church,  which 
may  not  be  found  "  for  substance  of 
doctrine,"  if  not  in  name,  during  this 
period.  Those  which  relate  to  the  per- 
son of  Christ,  all,  but  in  various  degrees, 
aiming  at  the  vital  principles  of  the  gos- 
pel, may  be  accounted  the  chief-  of 
which  Arianism  is  the  life  and  spirit. 
This  heresy  and  its  progeny,  springing 
up  in  Egypt,  spread  along  northern 
Africa  and  into  Spain.  It  passed  into 
Arabia,  over  Palestine  and  all  the  Asia- 
tic churches,  less  or  more.  It  mingled 
with  politics  according  to  the  idea  of  the 
times,  was  sometimes  persecuted,  and 
at  others  persecuted  the  Trinitarians  ; 
just  as  either  party  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  ascendancy  with  government.  Thus 
Arianism  and  picture-idolatry  were  lead- 
ing forms  of  rebellion  against  God,  and 
sources  of  corruption  in  the  Asiatic  and 
African  churches.  Somewhat  later,  but 
within  the  same  period,  Pelagianism, 
which  is  a  denial  of  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin,  and  of  justification  by  faith 
in  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ, 
together  with  image-worship,  infected 
the  churches  of  Europe. 

Such  a  lamentable  state  of  things 
called  for  special  chastisement,  and 
therefore  God  raised  up  the  Mohamme- 
dan impostor.  The  city  of  Mecca,  as 
before  stated,  had  become  a  sacred  place, 
from  the  celebrity  of  the  Caaba,  or  tem- 
ple, to  which  the  religious,  or  rather  su- 
perstitious Arabs  had  long  been  in  the 
habit  of  performing  pilgrimages.  The 
care  of  this  city  and  temple  became  a 
subject  of  strife,  probably  because  it  was 
an  office  of  profit ;  certainly  because  it 
was   honourable.      Abd   Menaf,  of  the 


76 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Koreish  tribe,  had  attained  to  this  honour, 
partly  by  violence  and  bloodshed,  partly 
by  the  great  wealth  and  influence  of  his 
tribe,  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  power- 
ful in  Arabia.     All  these  advantages  of 
family,  wealth  and  influence,  enhanced 
by  the  recent  and  superadded  glory  of 
bearing   the    keys   of  the    Caaba,   Abd 
Menaf  transmitted  to  his  son  Hashem ; 
he  to  his  son  Abd  '1  Motalleb  ;  and  he  to 
his  son  Abdallah,  the  father  of  Moham- 
med.     Thus   stands    the   genealogy, — 
Abd  Menaf,    Hashem,  Abd  '1  Motalleb, 
Abdallah,   Mohammed.     Abdallah    died 
young  and  left  his  widow  and  son  Mo- 
hammed   poor,    "  his    whole    substance 
consisting  but  of  five  camels   and  one 
Ethiopian  female    slave."       (See  Univ. 
Hist.   xix.    8.)      Abdallah    left    twelve 
brothers,  but  his  father  took  charge  of 
Mohammed ;  and  upon  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  a  few  years,  left  his  grand- 
son in  the  care  of  Abu  Taleb,   one  of 
the  boy's  uncles ;  who  was  engaged  in 
the  business  of  a  merchant.    Mohammed 
began   his  eventful  career,    not    indeed 
behind  the  counter,  but  upon  the  camel. 
The  credit  system   was   not  yet  intro- 
duced into   the   commercial  world,  be- 
cause men  lacked  the  honesty  to  trust 
one  another,  and   the  capacity  to  keep 
accounts.     Mohammed,  though  a  mer- 
chant, could  neither  read  nor  write  :  yet, 
as  his  subsequent   life   showed,  he  was 
possessed  of  very  superior  natural   ta- 
lents,  and  had  great  opportunities    for 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  men  and  man- 
ners.    The  merchant  of  those  days  was 
a  very   different  personage   from    what 
now  passes  under  that  name.     His  was 
no  pale  emaciated  form,  worn  out,  even 
in  youth,  by  confinement  to  the  counting 
house,  and  jaded  to  death  for  want  of 
healthful  air  and  exercise.     To   gain  a 
conception  of  an  Arab  trader,  we  must 
have  an  idea  of  the  course  of  trade  at 
that  time.     This  idea  may  be  obtained 
from  the  Bible.     "  And  King  Solomon, 
made  a  navy  of  ships  in  Ezion  Geber," 
now  Akaba,  on  the  head  of  the  Elonitic 
Gulf  of  the  Red  Sea.      Into  this  gulf 
did  the  river  Jordan  discharge  its  waters, 
before   the   destruction   of  Sodom   and 
Gomorrah,   and   the   formation   of  the 


Dead  Sea.  Along  the  valley  of  this 
river,  Solomon's  caravans  carried  that 
merchandise  which  filled  Jerusalem  with 
wealth.  Other  parts  of  Arabia  became 
also  seats  of  extensive  commerce,  for 
which  its  location  offered  the  oppor- 
tunity. The  trade  with  India  by  the 
Persian  Gulf  must  touch  Arabia  ;  and 
all  that  by  the  Red  Sea  must  pass 
through  her.  This  trade  found  its  way 
to  Rome  for  many  centuries.  It  was 
this  mainly  that  made  Tyre  such  a  mart 
of  wealth :  and  it  was  the  land  carriage 
which  for  centuries  converted  so  many 
Arabs  into  travelling  merchants. 

A  deathblow  was  given  to  this  vast 
trade  by  that  simple  instrument,  the  ma- 
riner's compass,  which  placed  the  pillars 
of  Hercules  and  the  hills  of  Caledonia 
nearer,  as  it  regards  cost  of  transporta- 
tion, to  the  wealth  of  India,  than  Rome 
or  Tyre.  We  must  carry  ourselves 
back  to  the  days  of  this  overland  traffic, 
if  we  will  possess  an  accurate  idea  of 
the  merchant  Mohammed.  How  in- 
vigorating this  roving  life !  how  keen 
and  penetrating  it  renders  the  eye,  in 
the  business  of  reading  character  !  How 
shrewd,  how  cunning  men  must  become 
who  pursue  it  long ;  unless  they  are 
absolute  dolts.  Into  this  school  our 
hero  entered  at  an  early  age.  At  thir- 
teen he  accompanied  his  uncle  Abu 
Taleb  on  a  trading  expedition  to  Bostra, 
a  town  anciently  appropriated  by  Joshua 
as  a  city  of  refuge,  in  the  south  part  of 
Reuben,  next  to  Arabia  Deserta.  It  is 
known  by  the  names  Beser  and  Bozrah, 
in  scripture.  It  was  under  the  power  of 
the  descendants  of  Edom,  and  a  place  at 
that  time  of  considerable  note.  Calmet 
says  it  was  the  residence  of  a  bishop  in 
the  early  ages  of  Christianity.  Whilst 
sojourning  here,  Mohammed  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  Nestorian  monk,  who 
is  called  by  Arabian  writers,  Boheira, 
and  by  the  Greeks,  Sergius.  He  was 
probably  an  Arabian  by  nation,  and  be- 
longed to  the  monastery  of  Abd  '1  Kais. 
(Univ.  Hist.  xix.  15.)  Sergius  paid  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  boy,  doubtless 
perceiving  in  him  the  buddings  of  genius. 
On  a  subsequent  occasion  they  met  at 
Jerusalem,    where    additional    strength 


LECTURE  Vin. 


77 


was  given  to  the  friendly  feeling  before 
cherished  toward  the  young  merchant. 
(See  Prideaux's  Life  of  Mohammed, 
p.  32.) 

This  Sergius  was  afterwards  degraded 
from  the  ministerial  office  for  vice  and 
error ;  and  learning  that  Mohammed 
had  also  experienced  a  change  in  his 
circumstances,  so  as  to  be  able  to  assist 
him,  he  made  his  way  to  Mecca.  Mean- 
while Mohammed's  uncle  had  kindly 
procured  him  employment,  in  the  service 
of  a  merchant's  widow,  who  had  recently 
lost  her  second  husband.  She  was  of 
the  Koreish  tribe,  and  not  too  young  to 
employ  an  active  clerk,  but  too  rich  to 
do  without  one.  In  this  new  position 
Mohammed  had  several  reasons  for  be- 
ing very  attentive  to  the  business  of  his 
employer.  Wealth  continued  to  flow 
into  the  widow's  coffers,  and  from  ano- 
ther source,  kindly  feeling  flowed  out 
toward  the  comely  youth  whose  faith- 
fulness and  talents  made  every  thing 
prosper.  This  good  feeling  was  reci- 
procated, and  the  beautiful  Kadijah, 
from  being  the  mistress  of  Abu  Taleb's 
nephew,  put  herself  and  all  her  wealth 
under  the  mastership  of  the  son  of  Ab- 
dallah.  This  important  event  occurred 
in  his  twenty-fifth  year. 

We  have  already  noted,  that  the  luxu- 
ries of  Rome  made  the  wealth  of  the  East 
necessary  for  her  gratification,  and  the 
Arabians  profited  by  the  trade ;  some 
honestly,  in  the  way  of  buying,  carry- 
ing, and  selling ;  others  dishonestly,  ac- 
cording to  the  native  character  of  an 
Arab,  by  robbing  the  caravans,  or  tra- 
velling companies  of  merchants.  Hence 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  an  Arabian  mer- 
chant must  become  a  soldier  also.  He 
must  carry  arms,  and  know  how  to  use 
them.  In  accordance  with  this,  history 
tells  us,  that  Mohammed,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  or,  as  some  say,  twenty,  ac- 
companied his  uncle  in  a  military  expe- 
dition against  a  tribe  that  troubled  the 
caravans,  in  which  both  uncle  and 
nephew  displayed  so  much  of  the  sol- 
dier as  to  ensure  the  victory. 

A  little  after  this,  the  Caaba  was  re- 
built. The  house  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Abraham  and  Ishmael  was  deemed 


too  small.  A  stone  structure  of  rude 
workmanship  was  erected,  twenty-four 
cubits  long,  by  twenty-three  wide,  and 
one  story  high  :  about  forty-four  by 
forty-two  feet.  But  in  the  erection  of 
this  building,  a  dispute  occurred  about 
the  proper  position  for  the  Black  Stone. 
This  Black  Stone,  Mohammedans  say, 
was  brought  from  heaven  by  the  angel 
Gabriel,  and,  of  course,  its  position  was 
important.  Whilst  the  dispute  was  pro- 
gressing, they  agreed  to  leave  it  to  the 
first  man  who  might  come  to  the  build- 
ing. That  man  happened  to  be  Mo- 
hammed, and  thus  superstition  began  to 
distinguish  him. 

About  three  years  after  his  marriage, 
A.  D.  606,  he  withdrew  from  business, 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  a  cave  in 
Mount  Heira,  three  miles  from  Mecca, 
his  native  city,  that  he  might  have  full 
and  undisturbed  leisure  to  perfect  his 
plan  of  a  new  religion,  and  his  schemes 
to  secure  its  success.  It  will  be  kept  in 
mind  that  he  has  been  more  than  sixteen 
years  in  the  active  business  of  a  mer- 
chant, stationary  and  travelling ;  in 
which  employment  he  was  brought  in- 
cessantly into  contact  with  men  of  all 
religious  opinions  ;  Jews,  Christians,  and 
Pagans  ;  Nestorians,  Greeks,  and  Ro- 
mans ;  Arians,  Trinitarians,  Monophy- 
sites,  Donatists,  and  every  name  of 
heresy  and  sect.  His  opportunities, 
therefore,  for  forming  an  eclectic  sys- 
tem were  admirable.  His  aim  was 
success,  and  therefore  his  creed  must 
interfere  as  little  as  possible  with  those 
of  other  people.  He  has,  accordingly, 
properly  speaking,  but  one  article  of 
faith,  and  that  a  fundamental  truth  of 
natural  religion.  The  absurdity  of  poly- 
theism and  of  idolatry,  he  knew  to  be 
generally  understood.  He  required  faith 
in  the  one  God,  and  in  himself  as  his 
prophet.  This  is  the  whole  of  his  reli- 
gious belief.  "  There  is  one  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  prophet."  This  first 
principle  is  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  he 
obtained  the  knowledge  of  it  through  the 
Jew  and  the  Christian ;  it  commends 
itself  to  human  reason. 

But  Mohammed  was  an  illiterate  man. 
So  were  most  men  of  that  day ;  even  the 


78 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


nobility  of  England  and  France,  seven 
hundred  years  later,  could  not  write 
their  own  names.  He  felt  the  necessity 
of  aid  from  some  literary  character ; 
hence  his  former  friend  Sergius  was 
taken  into  his  service. 

It  has  been  made  a  question  whether 
Sergius  was  actually  with  him  when  he 
retired  to  the  cave.  Mohammedans,  of 
course,  and  their  near  friends  in  the  same 
faith,  the  Socinians,  Arians  and  Unita- 
rians, deny  it :  whilst  Christian  writers, 
not  friendly  to  anti-christian  doctrines, 
affirm  it.  That  the  impostor  was  unable 
to  read  or  write,  all  admit :  therefore  some 
one  aided  him,  and  the  weight  of  histo- 
rical authority  is  in  favour  of  Sergius. 
This  is  the  fallen  star  of  John's  revela- 
tion :  (chap.  ix.  2,)  that  opened  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  and  let  out  the  dark  smoke 
of  the  impostor's  doctrine,  from  which 
came  forth  the  Saracenic  locusts, — those 
all-devouring  conquerors. 

After  considerable  time  and  effort,  he 
brought  over  his  wife  Kadijah  :  his  ser- 
vant Zeid  was  his  next  convert ;  usually, 
however,  he  reckoned  him  his  first,  as 
being  the  first  male :  his  third  disciple 
was  Ali,  his  cousin,  the  son  of  Abu  Ta- 
leb,  his  protector  uncle,  then  a  boy  of 
nine  years  old.  After  months  of  reason- 
ing, flattering  and  fawning,  followed  Abu 
Beer,  a  man  of  talents  and  influence,  who 
soon  enlarged  the  number  of  this  secret 
cabal ;  for  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  at 
this  time  it  was  a  secret  society.  Subse- 
quently, he  married  Abu  Beer's  daughter, 
Ayesha,  a  child  of  seven  years  old,  whose 
espousals  were  not  however  celebrated 
for  two  years  afterwards.  How  far  the 
child's  father  may  have  been  influenced 
by  the  same  motives  that  induced  the 
young  merchant  to  make  himself  the  third 
husband  of  a  rich  widow,  it  is  perhaps 
at  this  distance  of  time,  not  easy  to  de- 
termine :  doubtless,  the  gold  of  the  re- 
tired merchant  aided  the  faith  of  the 
doubting  philosopher. 

In  the  year  612,  his  party  had  in- 
creased still  further,  and  he  began  pub- 
licly to  propagate  his  religion.  Imme- 
diately he  met  with  great  and  violent 
opposition  from  men  of  his  own  tribe. 
The  strife  ran  so  high  that  Mohammed 


became  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety, 
and  fled  to  Medina.  This  was  in  A.  D. 
622  ;  ten  years  after  he  began  to  publish 
his  dogmas,  and  sixteen  from  the  period 
of  his  retirement.  This  fixes  the  Moham- 
medan era,  called  the  Hegira  or  flight  : 
from  which  all  Mohammedans  date  as 
we  do  from  the  birth  of  Christ.  Shortly 
before  this  he  pretended  to  have  perform- 
ed his  journey  to  the  seventh  heaven,  and 
to  have  received  a  commission  to  defend 
himself,  and  propagate  his  religion  by 
the  sword. 

Soon  after  his  settlement  at  Medina  he 
sent  his  uncle  Hamza  with  thirty  horse- 
men, to  rob  a  caravan  of  Koreish  mer- 
chants ;  but  he  found  them  guarded  by 
three  hundred  men,  and  desisted  from  the 
attempt.  In  the  year  624,  he  attacked  a 
rich  caravan  of  Koreish  merchants,  on 
their  return  from  Syria.  This  was  his 
first  battle.  He  had  three  hundred  and 
thirteen  men,  and  his  opponents  nine 
hundred  and  fifty.  He  routed  the  guard, 
killed  seventy,  took  seventy,  and  lost 
fourteen  of  his  own  men.  The  spoil  was 
immense,  and  after  appropriating  one- 
fifth  of  it  to  the  sacred  work  of  propa- 
gating the  faith,  he  distributed  the  rest 
among  his  followers.  This  rule  was  fol- 
lowed ever  afterwards. 

In  625,  he  fought  the  great  battle  of 
Ohud  with  the  Koreish,  three  thousand 
strong.  Mohammed  displayed  most  des- 
perate personal  bravery,  and  had  very 
nearly  lost  his  life.  He  was  beaten  down 
with  a  shower  of  stones,  cut  in  the  face 
by  two  arrows,  and  had  two  of  his  front 
teeth  knocked  out :  still  however  he  gain- 
ed the  day  and  put  his  foes  to  flight.  In 
627  he  attacked  the  tribe  of  the  Koreid- 
hites,  put  the  men  all  to  the  sword  after 
they  had  surrendered,  and  obtained  their 
women,  children  and  goods.  The  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  women  he  selected  as 
a  wife  for  himself.  This  made  his  third. 
In  this  same  year,  he  was  smitten  with 
an  accidental  glance  which  he  had  of 
Zeinab,  the  wife  of  Zeid,  his  servant  and 
second  convert.  The  result  was  a  new 
chapter  for  the  Koran  authorizing  di- 
vorce,— the  divorce  of  Zeinab  from  her 
husband  and  her  marriage  to  the  prophet. 
She  was  his  fourth  wife. 


LECTURE  VIII. 


79 


Such  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  spirit  and 
means  by  which  the  Mohammedan  reli- 
gion was  spread.  The  entire  history  is 
a  tale  of  blood,  plunder  and  lust.  Four- 
fifths  of  all  the  property  and  women  of 
the  vanquished,  being  always  divided 
among  the  soldiers,  held  out  very  power- 
ful motives  to  two  of  the  strongest  pas- 
sions of  the  human  bosom.  All  this 
was  done  in  the  name  of  God,  and  all 
accompanied  by  the  most  profound  out- 
ward manifestations  of  religious  devotion. 
Thus  in  eight  years  he  extended  his  vic- 
torious arms  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
Arabian  peninsula.     He  died  in  632. 

The  impostor  appointed  no  successor, 
and  his  disciples  had  some  difficulty,  but 
finally  fixed  upon  Abu  Beer  as  Caliph, 
or  successor.  He  pursued  the  same  sys- 
tem. He  abode  at  Mecca,  as  in  his  latter 
years  Mohammed  did  ;  for  after  his  vic- 
tories at  Ohud,  he  returned  to  his  native 
city,  and  entered  it  without  opposition. 
He  preached  continually  to  the  faithful, 
and  directed  the  military  movements  of 
his  armies.  Abu  Beer's  first  conquest 
was  Irah  or  Babylonia :  against  which 
he  sent  Khaled.  Into  Syria  he  soon  made 
many  successful  expeditions.  Among  the 
numerous,  ferocious  and  bloody  achieve- 
ments of  Khaled,  whom  Mohammed  had 
surnamed  "  one  of  the  swords  of  God," 
we  may  mention  the  siege  and  sack  of 
Damascus.  One  of  the  Moslem  generals 
had  been  killed  by  a  poisoned  arrow ; 
whereupon  Khaled  determined  to  carry 
the  place  by  assault.  At  this  juncture, 
a  priest  named  Josiah  deserted  from  the 
city,  and  came  to  Khaled,  and  assured  him 
that  the  prophet  Daniel  had  predicted  the 
future  greatness  of  the  Moslem  empire. 
He  then  led  the  army  into  the  city :  the 
slaughter  was  fearful ;  and  we  learn  from 
the  traitor  that  the  degenerate  Christians 
of  that  day  understood  Daniel  as  we  do 
now. 

In  635,  on  the  very  day  in  which  Da- 
mascus was  taken,  Abu  Beer  died,  hav- 
ing by  formal  will  appointed  Omar  as 
Caliph.  The  wars  of  conversion  were 
prosecuted  with  unremitting  diligence  and 
undiminished  energy.  As  a  sample  of 
these  terrible  conflicts  the  battle  of  Yer- 
mouk  may  be  cited.  The  distressed  Chris- 


tians importuned  the  Greek  emperor  at 
Constantinople  for  aid,  and  Heraclius 
sent  into,  and  raised  in  Syria,  the  Arab 
writers  say,  two  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand men,  of  whom  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  were  slain  in  the  battle, 
and  forty  thousand  were  made  prisoners. 
The  Moslems  lost  four  thousand  and 
thirty.  This  disparity  is  hardly  credible, 
for  the  Syrian  and  Greek  troops  fought 
with  desperate  courage.  Still  the  slaugh- 
ter was  fearful. 

Soon  after  this,  Jerusalem  was  besieg- 
ed and  after  many  deeds  of  most  heroic 
daring  on  both  sides,  it  was  found  impos- 
sible for  the  city  to  hold  out.  The  patri- 
arch Sophronius  demanded  an  interview 
with  the  Moslem  general,  and  they  agreed 
upon  terms  of  surrender,  subject  to  the 
ratification  of  the  Caliph.  A  messenger 
was  despatched  to  Mecca,  and  Omar 
made  immediate  preparation  and  started 
for  the  camp  before  Jerusalem.  "  He 
rode,"  (says  the  Univ.  Hist.  xix.  p.  290,) 
"  upon  a  red  camel,  and  carried  with 
him  two  sacks,  one  of  which  contained 
his  sawich,  a  sort  of  provision  consisting 
of  barley,  rice  or  wheat  sodden  and  un- 
husked  in  use  among  the  Arabs  ;  and 
the  other  fruit.  Before  him  he  had  a 
leathern  bottle,  very  necessary  in  those 
desert  countries,  to  contain  water,  and 
behind  him  a  wooden  platter.  Before  he 
left  the  place  where  he  had  rested  the 
preceding  night,  he  constantly  said  the 
morning  prayer;  after  which  he  address- 
ed himself  to  his  attendants  in  a  devout 
strain,  always  uttering  some  pious  ejacu- 
lations. Then  he  communicated  his 
sawich  to 'them,  every  one  of  his  fellow- 
travellers  eating  with  him  out  of  the 
same  platter  without  distinction.  His 
clothes,  according  to  Theophanes,  were 
made  of  camel's  hair,  and  even  in  a  very 
tattered  and  ragged  condition ;  nor  could 
any  thing  be  more  mean  and  sordid  than 
the  appearance  he  made." 

Such  was  the  human  form  that  was 
about  to  enter  Jerusalem  in  triumph. 
Such  the  man  who  dictated  to  the 
Christians  the  terms  of  surrender  of  the 
city  where  David  and  Solomon  reigned, 
and  the  Son  of  David  was  crucified  and 
arose  from  the  dead.     Well  had  it  been 


80 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


for  the  Christian  world,  if  they  had 
obeyed  the  ninth  of  these  articles  of  ca- 
pitulation. It  is  in  these  remarkable 
words  :  "  They  shall  not  sell  wine,  nor 
any  other  intoxicating  drink."  (Univ. 
Hist.  xix.  393.)  What  a  lesson  and 
rebuke  even  to  Christians. 

When  the  Patriarch  Sophronius  first 
saw  Omar  in  the  Church  of  the  Resur- 
rection, he  could  not  forbear  breaking 
out  into  the  following  exclamation  : 
"  This  is  of  a  truth  the  abomination  of 
desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  pro- 
phet, standing  in  the  holy  place." 
Which  words  the  Moslems  afterwards 
hearing,  they  inferred  from  them,  that 
the  patriarch  owned  their  conquest  of 
Jerusalem  to  have  been  foretold  by  the 
prophet  Daniel.  (Univ.  Hist.  xix.  396.) 
In  this  manner  the  holy  city  came  into 
the  power  of  the  Mohammedans  in 
April,  A.  D.  637.  The  next  year  fell 
Antioch.  Tyre  soon  followed,  and  Ce- 
sarea,  Mesr  the  ancient  Memphis,  Alex- 
andria, and  all  Egypt. 

Such  are  the  triumphs  of  the  sword- 
and  the  Koran,  and  thus  far  only  may 
we  prosecute  the  history  at  present.  We 
now  glance  at  the  text  to  see  its  cor- 
respondence with  all  this.  Verse  10. 
"  And  it  waxed  great  even  to  the  host 
of  heaven."  The  host  of  heaven  is  the 
army  of  the  church,  the  professed  people 
of  God.  "  And  it  cast  down  some  of  the 
host," — destroyed  some  of  the  church, 
— "  and  of  the  stars  to  the  ground,  and 
stamped  upon  them."  A  star  is  a  sym- 
bol of  a  Christian  minister.  "The 
seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches  :" — the  ministers.  (Rev.  i.  20.) 
How  exact  the  fulfilment !  What  mul- 
titudes of  the  Christians  and  Christian 
ministers  were  hurled  down  and  stamped 
upon,  in  these  wars  !  Verse  11.  "Yea 
he  magnified  himself  even  to  the  prince 
of  the  host."  The  Mohammedan  sys- 
tem places  its  founder  on  an  equality, 
or  makes  him  superior  to  Jesus,  the 
Prince  of  the  Christian  armies.  "  And 
by  him  the  daily  sacrifice  was  taken 
away,  and  the  place  of  his  sanctuary 
was  cast  down," — the  Christian  worship 
was  suppressed  and  the  sanctuary  pro- 
faned :  "  and  an  host  or  army  was  given 


to  him."  God  appointed  this  scourge 
upon  his  own  church  "  by  reason  of 
transgressions," — on  account  of  the  ex- 
ceeding corruptions  of  religion. 

Verse  23.  "  A  king  of  fierce  counte- 
nance,"— and  was  there  ever  displayed 
more  stern  ferocity  than  in  the  warlike 
originator  of  the  Mohammedan  creed  ? 
"  And  understanding  dark  sentences." 
Who  can  glance  into  the  Koran,  without 
perceiving  the  mist  and  obscurity  that 
enshrouds  this  dark  superstition  1 

Verse  24.  "  And  his  power  shall  be 
mighty,  but  not  by  his  own  power;" — 
the  original  resources  of  Mohammed 
were  very  kw,  and  the  energy  of  his 
doctrine  was  nothing.  All  his  success 
sprang  from  the  wealth  and  arms  of 
others.  Verse  25.  "  And  by  peace 
shall  he  destroy  many  :"  this  is  appa- 
rently inconsistent  with  fact ;  but  it  is 
apparently  so  only,  not  really.  "  In 
peace," — while  they  are  in  peace,  he 
shall  fall  upon  them  unawares  and  de- 
stroy them.  "  He  shall  be  broken  with- 
out hand  ;" — the  Mohammedan  impos- 
ture shall  pass  away,  and  be  destroyed, 
without  violence.  No  army  shall  be 
required  to  annihilate  it.  This  we  shall 
hereafter  see  corresponds  with  John's 
vision  of  the  drying  up  of  the  Eu- 
phrates. 

Such  is  the  exact  agreement  of  the 
antedated  and  the  postdated  history. 
A  few  thoughts  are  suggested  by  this 
subject ;  and  with  them  we  conclude. 

1.  God  often  scourges  his  offending 
people  with  instruments  of  their  own 
procurement :  the  drunkard  punishes 
himself;  the  profane  man  breaks  down 
the  sacredness  of  an  oath,  and  is  often 
chastised  for  his  wickedness  by  the  loss 
of  wealth  or  reputation  occasioned  by 
false  swearing.  Christian  France  rushed 
into  infidelity,  and  infidelity  blighted  the 
fair  land  of  the  Huguenots.  So  in  the 
case  before  us,  Arianism  infected  the 
church  and  polluted  the  sanctuary;  God 
therefore  raised  up  a  giant  Arian  power, 
to  punish  his  erring  people.  Unitarian- 
ism,  as  the  same  doctrine  is  now  called, 
poisoned  the  fountains  of  truth,  and  of 
power,  and  God  permitted  the  false  im- 
postor to  hold  the  poisoned  chalice  to 


LECTURE  VIII. 


81 


the  parched  lips  of  his  fainting  church. 
The  substantial  identity  of  Mohammed- 
ism  and  Unitarianism,  is  affirmed  by- 
Gibbon,  (vol.  iii.  p.  376.)  "The  first 
principle  of  reason  and  revelation,  was 
confirmed  by  the  voice  of  Mohammed, 
his  proselytes  from  India  to  Morocco, 
are  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Unita- 
rians ;  and  the  danger  of  idolatry  has 
been  prevented  by  the  interdiction  of 
images."  The  same  is  affirmed  by  a 
deputation  of  Unitarians  in  England,  in 
their  congratulatory  letter  to  the  Ambas- 
sador of  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  (See 
Mason  on  Intercommunion,  and  Miller's 
letters  on  Unitarianism.)  It  is  very  re- 
markable, that  the  Moslem  sword  fol- 
lowed the  ti'ack  of  the  Arian  heresy  with 
scarcely  any  deviation. 

The  reason  of  this  divine  arrange- 
ment, it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive. 
There  is  goodness  mingled  with  wrath. 
God  will  make  his  church  to  see  and 
feel  the  ruinous  consequences  of  false 
doctrine,  as  a  means  of  recovering  her 
from  her  errors.  Let  us  be  instructed 
by  the  miseries  of  the  past,  and  guard 
against  all  forms  of  heresy,  by  what- 
ever names  they  may  be  distinguished. 
Every  thing  that  tends  to  degrade  the 
Son  of  God  to  the  level  of  a  creature, 
he  will  scourge  out  of  his  temple  at  last ; 
and  the  nation  which  fosters  such  here- 
sies, he  will  visit  with  his  indignation 
and  his  curse. 

2.  The  profanation  of  the  sabbath, 
extensively  prevailed  in  the  eastern 
church;  and  this  was  largely  a  result 
of  the  Arian  heresies.  Wherever  there 
is  a  decline  of  vital  piety,  there  the 
sacredness  of  the  day  of  rest  will  be 
despised.  This  is  among  the  first  signs 
of  apostacy.  Such  was  the  declension 
in  regard  to  the  sabbatic  institution  in 
the  fifth  century,  that  Theodosius  II.  in- 
terposed his  imperial  authority  and  pro- 
claimed an  edict  prohibiting  even  Jews 
and  Pagans  from  attending  circuses  and 
theatres  on  the  Christian  sabbath.  And 
Leo  I.  passed  a  law,  A.  D.  469,  forbid- 
ding "any  judiciary  proceedings,  or  any 
games  and  plays"  on  the  Lord's  day, 
(Milner  ii.  496,  500.)  Feeble,  how- 
ever, were  these  barriers  against  the  de- 

11 


generacy  of  the  times.  Unless  public  sen- 
timent uphold  law  it  must  prove  nugatory. 
Ancient  Christians,  so  called,  would  have 
their  sabbath  amusements,  and  God  pub- 
lished to  them  many  a  tragedy  written  in 
their  own  blood.  They  would  not  have  this 
man  to  reign  over  them,  and  God  ap- 
pointed them  another  ruler, — "  a  king 
of  a  fierce  countenance."  They  would 
not  observe  God's  day,  and  he  gave 
them  many  Mohammedan  sabbaths,  and 
their  land  had  rest.  Let  us  be  admo- 
nished and  pause ;  lest  by  our  accumu- 
lating crimes,  we  call  down  upon  our 
own  land  the  anger  of  the  Most  High. 

3.  How  wonderful  are  the  revolutions 
which  a  slight  impi'ovement  in  science 
may  produce  on  the  earth  !  The  mari- 
ner's compass  has  annihilated  the  com- 
merce of  Arabia.  The  overland  traffic 
to  India  has  been  swept  away  by  it.  It 
has  impoverished  Mecca  and  Medina, 
Ormuz,  Bostra,  Tyre,  Alexandria  and 
Rome.  It  has  placed  the  frozen  isle  of 
Britain  on  the  vantage  ground  above 
Alexandria,  Memphis  and  the  Eternal 
City,  as  to  Indian  commerce.  It  has 
brought  the  terra  incognita  which  we 
inhabit  nearer  than  the  city  of  David. 
It  has  thrown  back  Arabia  and  her  vast 
traffic,  and  with  it  her  very  literature, 
upon  her  own  desert  sands,  and  recon- 
verted her  teeming  population  into  rob- 
bers of  the  desert.  And  what  may  not 
the  inventions  of  science  do  again  for 
Arabia  and  Jerusalem?  Is  it  beyond 
the  range  of  even  probability,  that  the 
genius  of  Fulton  may  cover  the  Nile 
herself  with  a  thousand  floating  palaces, 
and  drown  the  roar  of  her  far-famed 
cataracts  in  the  boomings  of  a  hundred 
steamers'?  Is  it  too  visionary  to  sup- 
pose that  a  line  of  levels  may  be  carried 
from  Acre,  by  Mount  Tabor,  over  the 
plain  of  Jezreel  to  the  border  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  thence  down  the  Jordan,  and 
by  some  ravine  cutting  across  through 
the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  to  Jerusalem, 
thence  to  the  Dead  Sea  and  down  the 
valley  of  El-Ghor  to  Akaba,  the  sea- 
port of  Solomon's  navy  1  Is  it  beyond 
the  range  of  possibility,  that  the  same 
genius  may  disembowel  the  mountains 
of  his  native  land,  and  convert  the  vast 


82 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


masses  of  her  iron  ore  into  steam  ships, 
and  combine  the  latent  fire  of  her  an- 
thracite with  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  Mediterranean,  the  Nile,  the  Red 
Sea,  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  waft  the 
freedom,  the  literature,  the  enterprise 
and  the  religion  of  his  native  country  to 
all  the  darkened  nations  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere  ? 

Thus  Christianity,  by  fostering  science 
and  patronising  literature,  promotes  com- 
merce and  civilization,  and  these  again 
carry  forward  the  gospel  in  its  triumph 
round  the  globe. 


LECTURE  IX. 

THE  LITTLE  HORN  OF  THE  FOURTH  BEAST. 
THE  TAPAL  POWER. 

"  And  I  considered  the  horns,  and  behold, 
there  came  up  among  them,  another  little  horn, 
before  whom  there  were  three  of  the  first  horns 
plucked  up  by  the  roots ;  and  behold  in  this 
horn,  were  eyes,  like  the  eyes  of  man,  and  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things.  And  of  the  ten 
horns  that  were  in  his  head,  and  of  the  other 
which  came  up,  and  before  whom,  three  fell : 
even  of  that  horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth 
that  spake  very  great  things,  whose  look  was 
more  stout  than  his  fellows.  And  I  beheld,  and 
the  same  horn  made  war  with  the  saints  and 
prevailed  against  them.  And  the  ten  horns  out 
of  this  kingdom,  are  ten  kings  that  shall  arise; 
and  another  shall  arise  after  them;  and  he 
shall  be  diverse  from  the  first,  and  he  shall  sub- 
due three  kings.  And  he  shall  speak  great 
words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall  wear 
out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think  to 
change  times  and  laws,  and  they  shall  be  given 
into  his  hand  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the 
dividing  of  time." — Daniel  vii.  8, 20, 21, 24,  25. 

Its  importance  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  human  race,  induces  us,  in  our  pub- 
lic administrations,  often  to  present  the 
thought,  that  civil  government  has  no 
right  to  dictate  in  matters  purely  reli- 
gious. Permit  your  attention  to  be  called 
to  the  historical  fact,  that  this,  which  we 
lay  down  as  fundamental  in  any  system 
adequate  to  secure  the  rights  of  man, 
has  never  been  known  to  any  nation 
unacquainted  with  Christianity.  The 
Bible,  and  the  Bible  only  teaches  this 
doctrine.     That  such  is  a  leading  cha- 


racteristic of  the  kingdom  of  the  little 
stone,  we  shall  see  very  sufficient  rea- 
sons to  believe.  "  My  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world,"  and  the  kingdoms  that 
are  of  this  world  have  no  title  to  rule  in 
it.  Yet  in  all  antiquity  we  will  search 
in  vain  for  a  civil  dominion  which  laid 
no  claim  to  the  regulation  of  religious 
matters.  The  idea  of  an  imperium  in 
imperio — a  spiritual  society  organized 
for  the  adjustment  of  religious  affairs, 
yet  untrammelled  by  civil  power,  and 
secluded  from  all  interference  with  state 
politics — such  an  idea  did  not  occur  to 
men  as  practicable.  Indeed  the  impos- 
sibility was  assumed  almost  universally, 
as  a  maxim.  Civil  rulers,  every  where, 
deemed  it  their  business  to  regulate,  if 
not  to  control  absolutely,  ecclesiastical 
concerns.  The  religion  of  Rome  was  an 
affair  of  state.  The  emperor  was  high 
priest ;  and  every  thing  was  arranged 
by  law.  This,  as  before  stated,  we  con- 
sider one  of  the  essential  features  of  An- 
tichrist. Its  application  always  tends 
to  persecution,  and  generally  arrives  at 
that  result.  Such,  from  the  beginning, 
was,  and  continues  to  be,  the  great 
image ;  such  were  all  the  four  beasts ; 
such  the  ten  horns  of  the  fourth  ;  and 
such  the  little  horn  that  sprang  up  among 
them. 

The  Jewish  theocracy  was  a  step  in 
advance  of  this  principle.  In  its  theory, 
religion  took  the  precedence,  and  civil 
affairs  remained  in  the  background. 
God  being  the  king,  and  that  even  by 
the  election  of  the  people,  the  high  priest 
was  his  prime  minister,  and  the  prophets 
his  ambassadors.  This  theory  was  how- 
ever interrupted  by  the  revolt  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  upon  which  God  gave  them  a  king, 
— another  king  in  his  anger:  and  the 
consequence  was,  frequent  infraction  of 
their  ecclesiastic  rights :  for  often  the 
civil  governor  rudely  intruded  upon  the 
sacred  precincts  of  religion.  Neverthe- 
less, its  officers,  as  such,  were  never  put 
under  the  dominion  of  the  state,  by  the 
principles  of  the  Hebrew  constitution. 
When  they  were  so  in  fact,  it  was  by 
usurpation.  This  system  was  not,  how- 
ever, designed  to  be  permanent.  The 
little  stone  had  not  begun  to  expand  into 


LECTURE  IX. 


83 


the  great  mountain.  Messiah's  king- 
dom must  proceed  still  further  in  ad- 
vance of  all  that  men  yet  knew.  It 
must  be  reorganized  on  the  princi- 
ples of  entire  independency  upon  civil 
power.  The  meretricious  alliance  with 
the  state  must  be  broken  up ;  and  the 
body  of  God's  believing  children  main- 
tain, and  assert,  at  all  hazards,  a  sepa- 
rate, social  existence ;  under  laws  of 
their  own,  wholly  spiritual,  yet  powerful 
for  good  to  all  the  interests  of  men. 
The  maintainance  of  such  an  organiza- 
tion has  always  characterized  the  true 
church  of  God, — the  pure  spouse  of  the 
heavenly  Husband  ;  and  the  succumbing 
of  a  nominal  church  to  the  polluting  em- 
brace of  the  civil  arm,  has  ever  marked 
the  spiritual  courtesan.  Such  is  the 
little  horn  of  the  fourth  beast,  to  which 
your  attention  is  now  invited.  Extended 
detail  you  are  not,  however,  to  expect, 
at  present.  Other  prophecies,  as  with 
the  little  horn  of  the  goat,  will  lead  us 
hereafter  to  be  more  minute.  Now,  we 
must  follow  Daniel  in  his  general  sketch. 

1.  The  position  of  the  little  horn  is 
among  the  others, — verse  8,  "  there 
came  up  among  them,  a  little  horn." 
The  ten  horns  had  grown  upon  the  un- 
sightly beast ;  ten  kingdoms,  we  have 
seen,  sprang  up  in  the  Roman  empire, 
and  this  constitutes  the  eleventh.  We 
are,  therefore,  to  look  for  this  horn 
among  the  ten.  The  power  symbolized 
by  it,  must  be  found  in  Europe,  where 
the  head  and  body  of  the  beast  are,  and 
not  in  Asia,  whither  no  part  of  it,  ex- 
cept the  arms,  ever  extended. 

2.  This  eleventh  power  is  subservient 
to  the  ten  in  the  order  of  its  origin. 
"  And  another  shall  arise  after  them," 
(verse  24.)  As  the  beast, — the  Roman 
state  had  existed  twelve  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  years,  before  the  deposition 
of  Romulus  Augustus  Augustulus,  in 
476,  by  Odoacer,  the  Goth  ;  so  the  ten 
horns — the  ten  kingdoms,  existed  before 
and  during  the  springing  up  of  the  little 
horn. 

The  earliest  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  that 
of  the  Huns,  on  the  Danube,  is  dated  by 
Bishop  Lloyd,  in  A.  D.  356,  and  by  the 
Universal  History  (xvii.  138),   in  376. 


The  last  of  them,  the  Lombards,  or 
Longo-bards,  so  called  from  the  length 
of  their  beards,  ascended  the  Vistula 
from  the  borders  of  the  Blaek  Sea,  and 
settled  in  Pannonia,  and  part  of  Hun- 
gary, in  A.  D.  526  ;  so  that  all  these 
horns  grew  upon  the  head  of  the  non- 
descript beast  in  the  space  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years.  Or,  if  according 
to  Doctor  McLeod,  we  leave  out  the 
Vandal  kingdom  in  Africa  and  take  in 
the  Allemanni,  a  kind  of  eclectic  nation, 
collected,  as  their  name  imports,  from 
all  others,  who  occupied  the  territory 
now  included  in  the  principality  of 
Wurtemberg,  and  who,  as  early  as 
the  year  214,  gave  considerable  trouble 
to  the  Emperor  Caracalla,  continued  to 
press  south,  and  settled  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  Alsace  and  along  the  foot  of 
Mount  Jura,  as  far  as  the  Lake  of  Ge- 
neva :  if  we  take  these  into  the  number 
of  the  ten,  and  omit  the  Vandals,  it  will 
not  materially  affect  the  case  ;  there  are 
ten  kingdoms,  among  which,  and  after 
which,  the  eleventh  is  to  rise  up. 

3.  The  eleventh  horn  is  "  diverse 
from  the  first"  ten,  (verse  24.)  As  the 
beast,  on  whose  head  it  grew,  differed 
in  character  from  the  first  three,  so  we 
are  to  seek  for  something  in  this  little 
eleventh  horn,  different  from  the  first 
ten.  Now  this  cannot  be  difference  of 
location,  of  size,  duration,  or  any  of  the 
properties  common  to  it  with  the  ten. 
For  in  this  sense,  the  ten  severally  vary 
from  each  other :  no  two  kingdoms  are 
precisely  similar.  This  diversity  ma- 
nifestly relates  to  essential  character. 
This  ruling  authority  is  not  constituted 
like  the  others.  All  the  ten  are  simple 
despotisms  or  unlimited  monarchies  ; 
this  one  has  the  substantial  features  of 
despotism  in  common  with  the  others ; 
but  it  has,  moreover,  its  own  peculiar 
distinctions, — "  he  shall  be  diverse." 

This  is  fatal  to  the  interpretation  of 
those  who  wish  to  make  the  little  horn 
refer  to  revolutionary  France.  Besides 
that  this  exposition  is  utterly  ruinous  to 
chronology,  its  inconsistency  with  the 
diversity  in  the  text,  is  palpable.  In 
what  essential  matter  did  the  French 
revolution  and  the  military  despotism  in 


84 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


which  it  resulted,  differ  from  the  revo- 
lutions in  Italy  or  Spain  in  the  days  of 
the  Gothic  and  Vandal  invasions?  But 
Mr.  Galloway,  quoted  by  Bishop  Faber, 
confines  the  period  of  the  little  horn,  to 
literal  days,  or  years,  not  prophetic. 
With  him,  "  a  time,  times,  and  the  di- 
viding of  time,"  means  simply,  three 
and  a  half  years ;  and  he  begins  this 
period  in  September,  1792,  and  closes 
it  in  March,  1796.  This,  he  says,  was 
the  reign  of  Atheism,  during  which  the 
saints  and  witnesses  lay  dead  and  un- 
buried.  But  these  saints  and  martyrs 
of  God, — who,  think  you,  our  commen- 
tator would  have  them  to  be?  No  others 
than  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of 
France!  Goodly  saints,  indeed!  Holy 
martyrs  !  Rarely  did  a  more  debased 
body  of  men  ever  disgrace  the  sanctity 
of  heathen  temples,  or  the  orgies  of 
Bacchus.  How  hard  is  it  for  the  friends 
of  legitimacy  to  deal  fairly  with  pro- 
phecy !  Such  an  interpretation  could 
find  its  way  only  into  a  mind  filled  with 
admiration  of  regal  succession  and  hatred 
towards  France. 

Our  position  is,  that  the  little  horn  of 
the  fourth  beast  is  the  Papal  hierarchy. 
Not  the  man  who  may  at  any  time  be 
seated  on  the  Papal  throne, — not  the 
spiritual  office  of  the  popedom, — not  the 
civil  ruler  called  the  Pope, — but  the  eccle- 
siastical, political  power:  that  stupendous, 
complex  despotism,  which  has  trodden 
under  foot  the  nations  for  so  many  cen- 
turies. This  is  the  little  horn  :  and  the 
occasion,  wc  may  say  the  moral  causes, 
of  its  rise,  were  the  corruptions  of  the 
church. 

As  in  the  East,  the  prevalence  of  Arian- 
ism,  and  the  idolatry  of  pictures,  with  all 
their  accompanying  abominations,  were 
the  moral  cause, — in  other  words,  ren- 
dered the  scourge  of  the  Mohammedan 
little  horn  necessary ;  so  in  the  West, 
image  worship,  demonology,  Pelagian- 
ism,  and  their  inseparable  attendant, 
moral  delinquency,  made  necessary  the 
scourge  of  the  Papal  little  horn. 

Let  us  look  then,  at  the  characteristics 
of  this  horn.     This  power  "  has  eyes, 
like  the  eyes  of  a  man"  (verse  8). 
First.  He  is  a  bishop.    "  By  its  eyes," 


says  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  (see  Faber,  vol. 
i.  127,)  "  it  was  a  seer,  and  by  its  mouth 
speaking  great  things,  and  changing 
times  and  laws,  it  was  a  prophet.  A 
seer,  etfifaotos,  is  a  bishop,  in  the  lite- 
ral sense  of  the  word  ;  and  this  church 
claims  the  universal  bishopric."  Here 
the  great  philosopher  has  pointed  out 
the  distinguishing  peculiarity  of  the  little 
horn.  It  is  an  ecclesiastical  power. 
Whatever  else  it  may  include,  this  is  its 
leading  character.  Now,  it  has  been 
shown  that  the  other  horns  did  exercise 
authority  in  religious  matters ;  but  they 
were  civil  and  military  despotisms  :  none 
of  them  ever  put  forward  the  religious  as 
their  leading  feature  :  no  one  of  the  ten 
ever  established  itself  as  a  spiritual  king- 
dom. They  were  all  professedly,  king- 
doms of  this  world  :  but  the  Papal  power 
is*  spiritual : — it  is  "  diverse,"  and  this 
diversity  is  generic.  "  A  distant  and  dan- 
gerous station,"  says  Gibbon,  (vol.  iii. 
229,)  "  amidst  the  barbarians  of  the 
West,  excited  the  spirit  and  freedom  of 
the  Latin  bishops.  Their  popular  elec- 
tion endeared  them  to  the  Romans  :  the 
public  and  private  indigence  was  relieved 
by  their  ample  revenue ;  and  the  weak- 
ness or  neglect  of  the  emperors  com- 
pelled them  (the  Popes)  to  consult,  both 
in  peace  and  war,  the  temporal  safety  of 
the  city.  In  the  school  of  adversity,  the 
priest  insensibly  imbibed  the  virtues  and 
the  ambition  of  the  prince.  The  same 
character  was  assumed,  the  same  policy 
was  adopted  by  the  Italian,  the  Greek, 
the  Syrian,  who  ascended  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter;  and,  after  the  loss  of  her  le- 
gions and  provinces,  the  genius  and  for- 
tunes of  the  Popes  again  restored  the 
supremacy  of  Rome."  Here  we  have  a 
true  and  simple  account  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Bishop  of  Rome  gradually 
grew  into  a  complex  power,  possessing 
temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  dominion. 

Secondly.  This  horn  is  distinguished 
by  its  pompous  and  arrogant  pretensions. 
"He  shall  speak  great  words  against  the 
Most  High."  This  language  is  prophetic, 
and  of  course  is  not  to  become  applica- 
ble, in  its  fulness,  to  the  power  symbo- 
lized, in  the  earlier  stages  of  its  growth, 
but  rather  in  its  maturity.  And  who  has 


LECTURE  IX. 


85 


not  heard  of  the  bellowings  of  the  Papal 
bull?  What  Christian  nation  has  not 
trembled  at  the  thunderings  of  the  Vati- 
can? Who,  that  has  glanced  into  history, 
can  be  ignorant  of  the  haughtiness  of  the 
Popes,  the  blasphemy  of  this  apostate 
church,  and  her  tyrannical  head?  Does 
not  all  the  world  know  that  she  has  lord- 
ed it  over  the  nations  for  centuries  ?  Her 
head  styles  himself  the  vicar  of  God 
upon  earth,  and  authorizes  his  subjects 
to  call  him  "  our  Lord  God,  the  Pope." 
He  claims  infallibility, — his  judgments 
are  necessarily  right  and  true.  We  have 
an  example  of  this  in  the  bull  of  Pope 
Sixtus  V.,  against  the  two  sons  of  wrath, 
Henry,  King  of  Navarre,  and  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  beginning  thus, — "  the  au- 
thority given  to  St.  Peter  and  his  succes- 
sors, by  the  immense  power  of  the  Eter- 
nal King,  excels  all  the  powers  of  earthfy 
kings  and  princes.  It  passes  uncontrol- 
lable sentence  upon  them  all.  And  if  it 
find  any  of  them  resisting  God's  ordi- 
nance, it  takes  more  severe  vengeance 
of  them,  casting  them  down  from  their 
thrones,  though  never  so  puissant,  and 
tumbling  them  down  to  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  earth  as  the  ministers  of  aspiring 
Lucifer."  Again,  Pope  Pius  V.,  in  his 
bull  against  Queen  Elizabeth,  says ;  "  this 
one,  (himself,)  he  hath  constituted  prince 
over  all  nations  ;  and  all  kingdoms,  that 
he  might  pluck  up,  destroy,  dissipate, 
ruinate,  plant  and  build;" — and  then  he 
"  absolves  all  the  nobles,  subjects,  and 
people  of  the  kingdom,  and  whosoever 
else  may  have  sworn  to  her,  from  their 
oath,  and  all  duty  whatsoever,  in  regard 
of  dominion,  fidelity  and  obedience." 
(See  Barrow  on  Pope's  Supremacy,  pp. 
18,  19.) 

Thirdly.  "  He  shall  think  to  change 
times  and  laws,"  (verse  24.)  And  who, 
since  Julius  Csesar,  has  arrogated  to  him- 
self the  right  of  regulating  the  calendar, 
and  making  law  for  the  world  ? 

Fourthly.  Before  him  three  kingdoms 
shall  be  "plucked  up  by  the  roots," 
(verse  8.)  We  have  here,  almost  the 
very  phrase  which  the  Pope  used  in  his 
bull,  against  Queen  Elizabeth:  "he  shall 
subdue  three  kingdoms."  And  yet  he 
is  not  arraved  in  the  habiliments  of  war. 


He  is  an  sirirfxoiros, — a  seer,  and  has  a 
charge  which  it  is  his  employment  to 
oversee. 

St.  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem,  who  flourished 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
speaking  of  Antichrists  coming  in  the 
latter  times  of  the  Roman  empire,  saith, 
"  we  teach  these  things  not  of  our  own 
invention,  but  having  learned  them  out 
of  the  divine  scriptures,  and  especially 
out  of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  which  was 
just  now  read,  even  as  Gabriel  the  arch- 
angel interpreted,  saying  thus:  the  fourth 
beast  shall  be  the  fourth  kingdom  upon 
the  earth,  ivhich  shall  excel  all  the  king- 
doms ;  but  that  this  is  the  empire  of  the 
Romans,  ecclesiastical  interpreters  have 
delivered.  For  the  first  that  was  made 
famous,  was  the  kingdom  of  the  Assy- 
rians ;  and  the  second,  was  that  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  together :  and  after 
these,  the  third  was  that  of  the  Macedo- 
nians :  and  the  fourth  kingdom  is  now 
that  of  the  Romans.  Afterwards,  Ga- 
briel interpreting,  saith,  its  ten  horns  are 
ten  kings  that  shall  arise,  and  after  them 
shall  arise  another  king,  who  shall  ex- 
ceed in  wickedness  all  before  him :  not 
only  the  ten,  he  saith,  but  also  all  who 
were  before  him.  And  he  shall  depress 
three  kings  :  but  it  is  manifest  that  of  the 
first  ten  he  shall  depress  three,  that  he 
himself  may  reign  the  eighth  :  and  he 
shall  speak  words,  saith  he,  against  the 
Most  High.'  "     (Newton,  i.  173.) 

Here,  it  will  be  observed,  Cyril  gives 
not  his  own  private  opinion,  but  the  gene- 
ral understanding  of  the  church  in  that 
age,  as  Jerome  did  some  time  after  :  and 
Augustine  refers  to  Jerome,  as  having 
given  the  true  interpretation  of  Daniel. 

Where  are  the  three  kingdoms  which 
were  plucked  up  before  this  little  horn? 
Bishop  Faber  furnishes  the  most  satis- 
factory response.  Most  naturally  does 
he  look  for  the  three  near  to  the  locality 
of  the  little  horn.  As  the  others  were 
plucked  up  to  make  room  for  it,  we  must 
search  in  its  vicinity.  But  we  have  al- 
ready seen  that  upon  the  deposition  of 
Augustulus,  in  476,  Odoacer,  the  Goth, 
at  the  head  of  the  Heruli  and  Turingii, 
proclaimed  himself  king  of  Italy.  His 
kingdom  was  not  of  long  duration  ;  for 


86 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


in  493,  it  was  overturned  by  Theodoric, 
the  Ostrogoth,  and  "  from  the  Alps," 
says  Gibbon,  "  to  the  extremity  of  Cala- 
bria, Theodoric  reigned  by  the  right  of 
conquest.  The  Vandal  ambassadors  sur- 
rendered the  island  of  Sicily  as  a  lawful 
appendage  to  his  kingdom ;  and  he  was 
accepted  as  the  deliverer  of  Rome,  by  the 
senate  and  people,  who  had  shut  their 
gates  against  the  flying  usurper." 

This  conquest  was  made  by  the  ad- 
vice, and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  em- 
peror at  Constantinople,  who  sent  the 
insignia  of  royalty  to  the  new  king,  and 
thereby  acknowledged  the  kingdom  of 
the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy.  This  is  the 
second  of  the  three,  and  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  first,  the  senate  of  Rome, 
and  her  bishop,  had  their  agency  and 
their  counsels.  They  hoped,  at  first,  to 
make  one  horde  of  barbarians  destroy 
another,  and  to  reap  for  themselves  the 
benefit  ;  but  it  happened  differently. 
Theodoric  and  his  followers  proved  as 
troublesome  as  the  kingdom  of  Odoacer. 

"  After  a  reign  of  sixty  years,"  says 
Gibbon,  "  the  throne  of  the  Gothic  kings 
was  filled  by  the  exarchs  of  Ravenna, 
the  representatives,  in  peace  and  in  war, 
of  the  emperor  of  the  Romans  ;" — he 
alludes  to  the  Greek  emperor.  This 
government  would  have  been  subverted 
at  an  earlier  period,  had  not  the  sove- 
reign become  jealous  of  the  subject. 
Belisarius,  the  most  renowned  general 
of  his  age,  to  whom  Justinian  was  in- 
debted chiefly  for  the  military  glory  of 
his  reign,  became,  through  the  machina- 
tions of  others,  an  object  of  envy  even 
with  his  master,  whom  he  served  with 
singular  fidelity.  Time  after  time  he 
wrested  Rome  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
Ostrogoths,  took  captive  their  king, 
Vitiges,  a  most  fierce  and  skilful  war- 
rior, and  was  upon  the  eve  of  subverting 
their  kingdom  entirely,  when  he  was 
sent  into  Persia,  Gibbon  seems  to  sur- 
mise, out  of  jealousy, — but  under  pretext 
of  giving  him  a  more  important  com- 
mand. "  After  the  second  victory  of 
Belisarius,  envy  again  whispered  ;  Jus- 
tinian listened,  and  the  hero  was  recalled. 
'  The  remnant  of  the  Gothic  war  was 
no  longer  worthy  of  his  presence  ;   a 


gracious  sovereign  was  impatient  to  re- 
ward his  services,  and  to  consult  his 
wisdom,  and  he  alone  was  capable  of 
defending  the  East  against  the  innu- 
merable armies  of  Persia.'  Belisarius 
understood  the  suspicion,  accepted  the 
explanation,  embarked  at  Ravenna  his 
spoils  and  trophies  ;  and  proved  by  his 
ready  obedience  that  such  an  abrupt  re- 
moval from  the  government  of  Italy  was 
not  less  unjust  than  it  might  have  been 
indiscreet."     (Gib.  chap,  ii.) 

It  was  not  long,  however,  until  the 
affairs  there  required  his  pi'esence.  Italy 
fell  again  before  the  Gothic  barbarians, 
and  Totila,  their  king,  a  bold  and  expe- 
rienced warrior,  triumphed  every  where. 
The  cry  was  loud  and  long,  from  Rome 
and  Italy,  for  the  restoration  of  Belisa- 
rius, their  former  deliverer.  The  trans- 
fer was  made.  "  A  hero  on  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates,  a  slave  in  the  palace 
of  Constantinople,  he  accepted  with  re- 
luctance, the  painful  task  of  supporting 
his  own  reputation,  and  retrieving  the 
faults  of  his  successors."  But  the  spirit 
of  jealousy  and  envy  never  dies.  The 
general  was  restored,  but  the  legions 
whom  he  might  lead  to  certain  victory, 
and  the  necessary  funds,  were  withheld. 
His  complaint  on  this  point,  in  his  letter 
to  Justinian,  reminds  one  of  the  letters 
of  the  American  Fabius  to  the  Continen- 
tal Congress.  "  If  the  war,"  says  he, 
"  could  be  achieved  by  the  presence  of 
Belisarius  alone,  your  wishes  are  satis- 
fied :  Belisarius  is  in  the  midst  of  Italy. 
But  if  you  desire  to  conquer,  far  other 
preparations  are  requisite :  without  a 
military  force,  the  title  of  general  is  an 
empty  name."  But  his  remonstrances 
were  of  little  effect.  Rome  was  taken 
by  Totila,  in  A.  D.  546.  In  the  next 
year  Belisarius  retook  the  city,  and  re- 
pulsed Totila,  in  three  general  battles, 
which  that  king  fought  for  its  recovery. 
Still,  jealousy  prevailed — the  means  were 
not  furnished ;  and  the  general  finally 
procured  his  own  recall,  and  died  not 
long  after  in  private. 

The  eunuch  Narses,  brought  up  a 
mere  household  slave, — a  man,  never- 
theless of  uncommon  natural  talent, 
which  raised  him  gradually  in  the  con- 


LECTURE  IX. 


87 


fidence  of  his  master, — was  sent  into 
Italy,  two  or  three  years  after,  to  com- 
plete the  work  which  Belisarius,  but  for 
the  emperor,  would  have  finished  in  one 
short  campaign.  Narses  fought  a  great 
battle,  defeated  and  slew  Totila  :  shortly 
after  he  made  himself  master  of  Rome. 
This  was  in  July,  A.  D.  552  ;  and  in 
Mar  h  of  the  following  year,  he  fought 
anotner  desperate  battle  with  Teias,  who 
had  been  elected  king,  immediately  after 
the  death  of  Totila.  Teias,  as  his  pre- 
decessor, fought  like  a  fiend,  and  died 
like  a  madman.  "  He  fell,"  says  Gib- 
bon, "  and  his  head  exalted  on  a  spear, 
proclaimed  to  the  nations,  that  the  Gothic 
kingdom  was  no  more."  Thus  ends  the 
second  of  the  three:  it  was  plucked  up 
before,  as  it  were,  in  the  presence  of  the 
little  horn,  as  he  was  growing  up. 

Narses,  the  victor,  was  appointed  by 
Justinian,  governor  of  Italy,  under  the 
title  of  exarch  of  Ravenna.  This  office 
has  been  taken  by  some,  for  the  third 
king,  or  as  one  of  the  three :  but  to  this 
it  is  objected  very  reasonably,  that  it 
never  was  an  independent  government, 
— a  kingdom.  It  was  merely  a  provin- 
cial dependent  of  the  Eastern  Empire. 
We  must  look  elsewhere  for  the  third 
king  ;  and  with  Bishop  Faber,  we  find 
it  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Lombards, 
already  referred  to. 

Many  of  the  Lombards,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  established  themselves  on  the 
Danube,  in  527,  had  served  in  the  army 
of  Narses,  and  enjoyed  the  luxuries  of 
Italy.  Hence,  after  they  and  the  Avars 
had  vanquished  the  Gepida?,  in  Walla- 
chia,  Moldavia,  Transylvania,  and  part 
of  Hungary,  under  the  conduct  of  Alboin, 
their  king,  they  poured  down  upon  Italy. 
In  a  previous  war  with  the  Gepidae, 
when  quite  a  youth,  Alboin  had,  with 
his  own  hand,  killed  the  brother  of 
Cunimund,  then  king  of  that  people : 
and  Cunimund  having  fallen  in  battle, 
he  had  a  drinking  cup  made  of  his 
skull ;  yet  notwithstanding  this,  the  vic- 
tor married  his  daughter.  Just  before 
the  Lombards  deluged  the  Italian  plains, 
Narses,  who  is  supposed  to  have  invited 
Alboin  to  invade  Italy,  had  been  removed 
by  the  emperor,  because  of  his  avari- 


cious oppression  of  the  people,  and  one 
Longinus  had  been  appointed  exarch. 
He  presented  no  resistance,  and  Alboin, 
without  an  important  battle,  was  pro- 
claimed king  of  Italy,  A.  D.  570.  This 
kingdom  continued  two  hundred  and  four 
years.  About  A.  D.  772,  a  serious  dif- 
ference occurred  between  Desiderius,  the 
last  Lombard  king,  and  the  pope.  The 
latter  alleged  that  the  former  had  un- 
justly wrested  from  him  the  city  of  Fer- 
rara,  and  some  other  places,  and  not 
being  able  to  cope  with  the  Lombard 
king  alone,  he  invited  Charlemagne,  the 
French  monarch,  over  to  his  aid.  This 
invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  and  the 
result  was,  the  annihilation  of  the  Lom- 
bard power,  and  the  coronation  of  Char- 
lemagne as  king  of  Lombardy.  The 
ceremony  of  coronation  occurred  at  Mo- 
destia,  a  town  ten  miles  from  Milan  : 
the  archbishop  of  Milan,  at  the  order  of 
the  pope,  placing  on  the  head  of  the 
French  prince  the  iron  crown  of  the 
Lombard  kings.  Thus  was  plucked  up 
before  him,  the  third  kingdom  :  and  the 
pope  afterwards  rewarded  Charlemagne 
by  crowning  him,  at  Rome,  emperor  of 
the  Romans. 

Fifthly.  This  eleventh  kingdom  hav- 
ing seen  and  been  privy  to  the  fall  of 
three,  is  to  be  a  persecutor  of  the  true 
church  of  God.  "  I  beheld,  and  the 
same  horn  made  war  with  the  saints, 
and  prevailed  against  them," — "  he  shall 
wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  ;" 
he  shall  harass  and  afflict  God's  holy 
ones  for  a  long  period. 

And  what  is  church  history  for  the 
last  thousand  years,  but  an  account  of 
the  atrocities  perpetrated  by  the  Papal 
power?  What  nation  of  Europe  has 
she  not  clothed  in  sackcloth  ?  In  which 
of  the  ten  kingdoms  has  she  not  kindled 
up  the  flames  of  persecution,  and  the 
torch  of  war  ? 

Sixthly.  We  have  to  mark  the  period 
or  duration  of  this  troubled  and  depressed 
state  of  the  true  church.  "  And  they 
shall  be  given  into  his  hand,  until  a  time, 
times,  and  the  dividing  of  time." 

We  can  be  at  no  loss,  in  regard  to  the 
force  of  the  expression, — "they  shall  be 
given  into  his  hand  ;"  for  the  previous 


88 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


context,  by  describing  the  distress  of  the 
saints  under  his  persecuting  power,  ren- 
der it  unequivocal,  that  their  delivery  is 
the  act  of  God,  as  a  chastisement  for  the 
sins  of  the  church.  Displeased  at  his 
offending  people,  for  their  folly  and  their 
crime,  he  raises  up,  in  the  midst  of  them 
a  terrible  scourge  :  he  permits  the  great 
beast,  in  his  imperial,  and  subsequently 
in  his  divided  head,  to  yield  their  in- 
fluence to  the  little  horn.  The  emperor 
and  the  kings  gave  their  power  to  the 
Pope,  and  made  it  subservient  in  wear- 
ing out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High.  So 
had  he  dealt  with  his  church  of  old. 
"  And  I  will  forsake  the  remnant  of  mine 
inheritance,  and  deliver  them  into  the 
hand  of  their  enemies,  and  they  shall 
become  a  prey  and  a  spoil  to  all  their 
enemies."  (2  Kings,  xxi.  14.)  "  And 
the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  hot  against 
Israel,  and  he  delivered  them  into  the 
hand  of  spoilers,  that  spoiled  them." 
(Jud.  ii.  14.)  Such  temporary  deliver- 
ance up  to  the  oppressor,  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  everlasting  love  of  God 
to  his  church.  He  does  not,  therefore, 
cast  off  his  people  for  ever. 

The  duration  of  this  afflicted  condition 
is  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years.  The 
Chaldee  word  translated  time,  signifies 
a  natural  year.  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
driven  out  from  among  men  until  "  seven 
times"  had  passed  over  him.  This  can- 
not be  understood  in  the  prophetic  sense 
of  Ezekiel, — "  each  day  for  a  year  ;" 
for  then  he  must  have  been  deranged 
seven  years  of  years, — seven  times 
three  hundred  and  sixty,  or  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  twenty  years. 

Hence  commentators  are  led,  by  the 
evident  meaning  of  the  thing,  to  accept 
the  rule,  that  when  the  duration  regards 
individuals,  the  prophetic  day  for  a  year 
is  never  used.  Daniel  thus  furnishes  a 
clue  to  his  own  meaning.  (Chap.  ix. 
24-26.)  The  seventy  weeks,  until  Mes- 
siah shall  be  cut  off,  cannot  be  expound- 
ed of  any  facts  of  history,  unless  they 
be  taken  in  the  prophetic  symbolical 
sense ;  seventy  weeks  of  years,  or  four 
hundred  and  ninety  years.  So,  as  we 
have  seen  in  chap.  viii.  14,  a  day  is 
taken   for   a  year.      According  to  this 


rule,  these  three  and  a  half  years,  or  a 
time,  times, — that  is,  two  times,  and  the 
dividing  or  half  of  a  time  or  year,  will 
be  three  and  a  half  times  three  hundred 
and  sixty,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years.  To  the  end  of  that  depression, 
which  God  in  his  holy  providence  will  per- 
mit the  little  horn,  or  papacy,  to  exercise 
towards  his  true  church,  it  will  be  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years. 

The  question  relative  to  the  com- 
mencement of  this  period,  we  shall  not 
now  discuss  ;  but  will  merely  state  the 
true  position,  leaving  to  a  future  occa- 
sion, the  presentation  of  its  evidence. 
In  the  year  A.  D.  606,  the  Emperor 
Phocas  proclaimed  Boniface,  then  Bishop 
of  Rome,  universal  bishop  ;  giving  him 
spiritual  dominion  over  all  bishops  and 
all  churches.  This  we  consider  the 
bestowal  or  recognition  of  a  power 
whose  exercise  leads  necessarily  to 
tyranny  and  persecution.  The  little 
horn  of  the  fourth  beast,  having  been 
slow^  growing,  now  assumes  a  place 
amongst  the  other  horns,  as  also  does, 
at  the  same  time,  that  of  the  Macedonian 
goat :  consequently,  if  we  are  correct  as 
to  the  time  of  beginning  our  computation, 
and  if  the  days  of  the  times  are  three 
hundred  and  sixty  each,  and  if  they 
symbolize  natural,  or  solar  years,  as  we 
suppose,  we  may  look  for  the  simul- 
taneous downfall  of  the  Papal  and  Mo- 
hammedan apostacies,  about  A.  D.  1866. 
These  three  suppositions,  however,  will 
occasion  as  many  distinct  discussions 
hereafter. 

Lastly.  The  kings  who  lend  their 
power  to  the  little  horn,  are  to  be  shorn 
of  it,  along  with  him.  "  I  beheld  till 
the  thrones  were  cast  down,"  (verse  9.) 
Undoubtedly  the  thrones  or  governments 
represented  by  the  horns  are  meant. 
Three  of  these  were  plucked  up,  to 
make  room  for  the  little  horn.  The 
other  seven  are  to  be  cast  down  ;  their 
power  is  to  be  taken  from  them.  It 
cannot  surely  be  the  destruction  of  the 
people  over  whom  they  rule  ;  but  only 
the  abrogation,  reduction,  or  annihila- 
tion of  the  despotic  sway.  This  de- 
struction is  the  result  of  a  judicial  pro- 
cess.    God,  the  Father,  the  Ancient  of 


LECTURE  IX. 


89 


days,  sits  in  judgment  upon  the  king- 
doms, passes  a  sentence  upon  them,  and 
executes  his  wrath  against  the  very 
powers  he  has  raised  up  to  scourge  his 
disobedient  children.  Such,  precisely, 
had  been  his  course  with  all  other  king- 
doms, or  thrones, — the  Assyrio-Babylo- 
nian,  the  Medo-Persian,  the  Macedonian, 
the  Syrian,  the  Egyptian,  the  Roman, — 
all  thrones  which  crush  the  people  of 
God,  must,  in  due  time,  be  themselves 
crushed  beneath  the  chariot  wheels  of 
their  triumphant  king,  Messiah.  The 
kingdom  of  the  little  stone  will  fall  upon 
them,  and  grind  them  to  powder. 

This  process  we  suppose  began,  or  at 
least  received  a  new  impulse,  in  the 
former  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
God  then  sat  in  judgment  upon  the 
nations  :  and  by  the  Protestant  reforma- 
tion a  blow  was  given  to  the  despotisms 
in  the  hands  of  these  various  kingdoms, 
from  which  they  will  never  finally  re- 
cover. There  has  been,  upon  the  whole, 
ever  since,  a  weakening  of  the  bands. 
The  popular  principle,  whereby  the 
church  guarantees  to  her  members  the 
right  of  choosing  their  own  spiritual 
rulers,  is  working  its  way  against  the 
hereditary  principle.  All  the  ten  horns 
have  felt  the  influence.  The  idea  of 
power  to  rule  descending  from  the  crown 
to  the  people,  is  passing  away  :  and  the 
common  sense,  and  scriptural  doctrine, 
which  secures  to  the  children  of  God, 
the  privilege  of  electing  their  own 
spiritual  rulers,  is  taking  its  place,  and 
is  transmitting  itself  from  ecclesiastical 
to  civil  matters,  in  Europe,  as  it  has 
fully  done  in  this  country.  The  feet 
and  toes  of  the  vast  image,  will,  in  time, 
be  resolved  into  their  original  clay,  to 
be  trodden  upon,  by  every  passer  by. 
But  whilst  we  would  contend  that  these 
things  are  in  progress,  we  suppose  that 
the  language  in  verses  9-11,  has  refer- 
ence to  movements,  in  the  main,  as  yet 
future.  The  influence  of  truth  upon  the 
human  understanding,  is  slow,  but  sure. 
The  leaven  of  the  kingdom  is  operating 
silently  but  certainly.  All  signs  in  the 
governments  of  the  ten  horns  indicate 
their  speedy  decay.  Yet  they  will  rally 
once  more.     The  beast  is  not  slain :  his 

12 


body  is  not  yet  given  to  the  burning 
flame.  He  is  wounded  to  death,  and 
has  retired  to  his  den,  to  cherish  his 
wounds,  and  to  brood  revenge.  When 
he  shall  have  been  pursued  even  thither 
by  his  determined  foes,  he  will  come 
forth  to  a  last  desperate  and  fearful  con- 
flict. But  we  forbear  : — these  things 
will  come  before  us  more  suitably  in 
another  connexion. 

1.  We  remark,  by  way  of  summary, 
that  ten  kingdoms  were  to  arise  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Western  Roman  Em- 
pire, or  body  of  the  fourth  beast.  These 
we  have  seen  did  arise.  There  was  to 
spring  up  behind  these  an  eleventh,  be- 
fore which,  three  were  to  fall.  This 
eleventh  is  the  Papal  power.  The  three 
which  fell  before  it,  were  the  Gothic 
kingdom  of  Odoacer,  in  493,  the  Ostro- 
gothic  kingdom  of  Theodoric,  in  554, 
and  the  Lombard  kingdom  of  Alboin,  in 
774.  All  the  characteristics  of  the  little 
horn  are  graphically  descriptive  of  the 
Papacy ;  its  traits  are  generically  dis- 
tinct from  those  of  the  other  ten  :  and 
its  history  is  counterpart  to  the  prophecy. 
There  is  no  other  power  in  Europe,  nor 
has  there  ever  been  one,  to  whom  the 
prophecies  can,  with  any  thing  like 
plausibility,  be  referred.  We  rest  then,  in 
the  conclusion,  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  so  called,  is  the  little  horn  of 
the  fourth  beast.  It  embodies  all  the 
attributes  of  the  fourth,  and  of  all  the 
four.  It  is  tyrannical,  arbitrary,  per- 
secuting,— claiming  universal  or  catholic 
dominion  over  the  whole  world. 

2.  How  grateful  should  we  be  that 
our  lot  is  cast  within  a  country  and  a 
government  where  such  a  sway  is  not 
established !  We  are  permitted  by  a 
gracious  Providence  to  breathe  the  air 
of  freedom  ;  and  to  offer  up  the  aspira- 
tions of  our  hearts  to  Him  who  hath  so 
blessed  us,  untrammelled  by  the  limita- 
tions of  an  earthly  master.  We  can 
pray  for  our  public  servants  without 
having  to  wait  for  permission,  and  in 
words  of  our  own  dictation. 

3.  If  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High  are  to  possess  the  kingdom  — 
if  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  in  the  hearts  of 
men,  are  to  govern  the  world,  how  dili- 


90 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


gent  ought  we  to  be  in  searching  for 
these  inestimable  doctrines,  and  in  car- 
rying them  out  in  our  practice !  Sad  is 
the  state  of  those  nations  who  have  them 
not !  Great,  therefore,  are  our  obliga- 
tions to  send  the  word  of  the  Lord  abroad 
every  where. 

4.  How  important  the  ministry  of  the 
gospel !  And  how  necessary  that  it  be 
composed  of  men  of  deep  science,  and 
of  ardent  piety !  The  influence  of  an 
ignorant  and  corrupt  clergy  in  debasing 
the  whole  community  is  known  but  im- 
perfectly, even  to  those  who  read  and 
study  the  history  of  the  church  and  the 
civil  governments.  But  sufficient  is  ma- 
nifest to  fill  the  mind  with  horror.  May 
the  King  in  Zion  save  his  church,  and 
this  nation,  from  such  degradation  ! 


APPENDIX  TO  LECTURE  IX. 

Upon  revision,  the  author  discovers, 
that  the  three  questions  relative  to  the 
commencement  of  the  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  or  the  date  of  the  rise 
of  the  Papacy,  to  the  symbolic  meaning 
of  the  day,  and  to  the  length  of  the  year 
signified  by  it,  have  been  partly  over- 
looked, and  have  not  received  that  full 
discussion  which  a  promise  in  the  fore- 
going lecture  may  have  caused  the  reader 
to  expect.  There  has,  however,  been 
thrown  out,  on  several  occasions,  the 
substance  of  what  was  promised,  at  least 
so  far  as  the  last  two  questions  are  con- 
cerned, and  so  far  as  they  are  worthy 
of  distinct  consideration.  For  we  do  not 
think  the  allegation,  that  the  years  pro- 
phetic, can  be  any  other  than  natural 
years.  We  cannot  believe  that  prophecy 
for  the  general  benefit  should  be  tram- 
melled in  its  interpretation  by  the  me- 
thods which  particular  nations  have  taken 
to  intercalate  their  civil,  so  as  to  make 
it  collate  with  the  natural  year. 

The  effect  of  this  would  be  to  shorten 
the  entire  period  by  five  and  a  quar- 
ter days  to  each  year  of  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty, — making  nineteen 
years,  two  and  a  half  months,  and  so 
bringing  on  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses 
in  the  year  1848.     This,  however,  we 


do  not  consider  worthy  of  serious  dis- 
cussion. The  scriptures  speak  the  po- 
pular language  :  and  popularly  the  Jews 
accounted  the  year  to  consist  of  twelve 
months,  and  these  months  consisted  of 
thirty  days  each ;  and  yet  this  is  not 
exact  to  a  day.  But  these  fractional 
differences  between  the  natural  and  civil 
year  are  lost  sight  of  in  the  general  pro- 
phetic computation. 

'  As  to  the  question,  whether,  in  these 
prophecies,  a  day  stands  for  a  year,  no- 
thing farther  need  be  added  than  is  to 
be  found  in  the  body  of  the  lectures. 
That  it  does  so,  has  been  settled  into  a 
canon  of  interpretation.  It  is  too  late 
to  call  in  question  this  rule,  though  it  is 
proper  to  refer  to  the  evidence  on  which 
it  rests. 

The  first  of  the  preceding  inquiries, 
is  the  only  one  which  seems  to  demand 
a  fuller  illustration.  The  reasons  for 
the  opinions  set  forth  in  this  lecture,  and 
in  several  subsequent  ones,  are,  in  gene- 
ral, pointed  out  at  the  time.  That  the 
two  grand  apostacies  from  Christianity — 
the  Unitarian  apostacy  under  Moham- 
med in  the  East ;  and  the  polytheistic 
apostacy  under  the  Pope  in  the  West — 
did  exist  in  the  year  606,  is  admitted 
very  generally.  There  is  no  dispute 
about  the  former.  Mohammedism  sprang 
up  at  that  time.  Nor  is  there  any  dis- 
pute as  to  the  substantial  existence  of 
the  papal  power  at  the  same  date.  But 
it  is  contended  by  many  that  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  became  Pope  and  Antichrist  at 
an  earlier  date.  The  coincidence  of  the 
French  Revolution  with  the  era  of  Jus- 
tinian's edict  declaring  the  precedency 
in  power  and  dignity  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  has  made  that  date  at  present 
popular  with  British  writers.  This  edict 
was  issued  in  A.  D.  533,  which  number 
added  to  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years  of  Antichrist's  prosperity,  brings 
us  to  1793  as  the  time  of  his  downfall. 
The  near  coincidence  of  this  with  the 
French  Revolution  has  bewildered  many 
of  the  British  expositors.  Bishop  Faber, 
however,  has  clearly  refuted  this  appli- 
cation, by  showing  so  many  points  of 
inconsistency,  that  there  is  no  account- 
ing for  the  prevalence  of  the  opinion, 


LECTURE  IX. 


91 


but  by  reference  to  the  strange  effects 
of  that  terrible  earthquake  upon  the  Bri- 
tish mind. 

Justinian's  edict  did  not  proclaim  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  universal  bishop,  and 
place  all  churches  in  subjection  under 
him ;  but  simply  settled  the  order  of 
rank  and  dignity,  and  not  of  authority. 
All  that  Mr.  Keith  has  written  on  this 
point  alters  not  our  convictions  of  Bishop 
Faber's  correctness.  That  a  strife,  an 
unholy  strife,  did  long  exist  between  the 
Patriarchs  of  Rome  and  Constantinople 
is  undisputed.  That  it  was  a  strife  for 
the  pre-eminence,  first  of  dignity  and 
then  of  power,  is  also  clear.  This  gave 
the  emperor,  who  resided  at  Constanti- 
nople, no  small  annoyance.  It  could 
easily  be  seen  that  a  well  established 
priority  of  dignity  and  honour  might 
soon  lead  to  supremacy  of  power.  This 
it  was  not  the  monarch's  interest  to  con- 
cede :  and  this  Justinian  did  not  concede. 
But  he  did  grant  to  the  Roman,  that  he 
should  be  the  first  of  all  priests,  and  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Constantinople,  that 
he  should  have  the  second  place,  after 
the  holy  apostolic  seat  of  the  senior 
Rome ;  but  it  should  be  preferred  before 
all  the  other  seats. 

That  this  was  not  designed  to  confer 
or  to  recognise  universal  spiritual  juris- 
diction, appears  quite  evident  from  the 
fact,  that  when  afterwards  John  the 
Faster,  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  called 
a  council  (probably  with  the  consent  or 
by  the  order  of  the  emperor)  of  the 
church,  he  styled  himself  Universal 
Bishop,  he  was  severely  reprimanded 
and  censured  by  Gregory  the  Great, 
then  or  a  little  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Rome,  for  the  usurpation.  Gregory 
charged  him  with  wicked  pride  and  the 
assumption  of  an  authority  which  con- 
stituted one  of  the  essential  features  of 
Antichrist.  Now,  if  the  emperor  had  pre- 
viously proclaimed  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
Universal  Bishop,  it  is  impossible  to  ex- 
plain Gregory's  conduct.  Instead  of 
charging  John  with  assuming  a  power 
belonging  to  Antichrist,  he  must  simply 
have  accused  him  of  intruding  upon  the 
honour  and  privilege  of  the  Roman  see. 
And  if   Universal  Bishop,  as  used   by 


John,  was  merely  a  claim  of  priority  in 
honour,  he  could  only  accuse  him  of 
pride,  which  would  not  involve  an  anti- 
christian  usurpation. 

But  in  606,  the  Emperor  Phocas,  who 
reached  the  throne  by  wading  through 
the  blood  of  Mauritius,  his  predecessor, 
in  order  to  secure  Italy  in  his  interest, 
formally  declared  Boniface  III.  of  Rome 
Universal  Bishop,  and  forbade  the  title 
to  the  Bishop  of  Constantinople.  This, 
the  Roman  Catholics  themselves,  on  the 
faith  of  Baronius  alone,  assert  and  admit 
or  claim  as  their  proof  of  the  Pope's 
supremacy.  Hence  again  we  argue,  that 
if  Justinian  had  unequivocally  granted 
and  confirmed  to  Rome  the  universal 
bishopric  in  533,  there  could  be  no  rea- 
son for  Phocas  doing  the  same  in  606  : 
and  if  he  had,  it  would  have  been  men- 
tioned as  a  confirmation,  and  would  not 
have  been  referred  to  by  the  Romanists 
as  the  original  grant.  On  the  contrary, 
if  the  Romanists  could  have  pointed  to 
so  renowned  an  emperor  as  Justinian, 
as  having  acknowledged  and  established 
their  title  to  the  supremacy,  they  most 
unquestionably  would  not  have  derived 
it  from  one  so  bloody  and  disgraceful  as 
Phocas  is  universally  admitted  to  have 
been. 

But  after  all,  the  a  posteriori  argu- 
ment is  our  chief  dependence.  For  if 
the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  are 
counted  from  533,  then  the  witnesses 
(see  lee.  xix.  and  xx.)  must  have  been 
slain  in  1793  ;  and  having  lain  unburied 
three  and  a  half  years,  they  must  have 
been  restored  in  1797,  and  the  great 
earthquake  and  fall  of  a  tenth  part  of 
the  city  must  have  taken  place :  the 
Jews  must  have  been  restored  in  or  be- 
fore 1827  to  their  own  land  ;  the  papal 
Antichrist  must  have  been  slain ;  and 
the  Ottoman  empire  have  been  annihi- 
lated !  The  existing  state  of  things,  then, 
compared  with  the  language  of  prophecy, 
very  abundantly  refutes  this  interpreta- 
tion. None  of  these  momentous  events 
have  occurred,  which,  as  we  have  seen 
(or  shall  see  in  the  following  lectures), 
are  to  follow  the  termination  of  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years.  These, 
consequently,  could  not  have  begun  in 


92 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


533.  We  therefore  fall  back  upon  the 
later  period  of  606  as  the  proper  date 
for  the  rise  of  the  papal  and  polytheistic 
Antichrist,  and  of  course,  in  1866  this 
despotic  power  will  put  to  death  the  wit- 
nesses of  God,  as  will  be  exhibited  in  a 
subsequent  lecture. 


LECTURE  X. 

THE  VISION  OF  THE  THRONE,  THE  FOUR 
LIVING  CREATURES,  AND  THE  FOUR 
AND  TWENTY  ELDERS. 

Rev.  chap.  iv. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  subject 
which  has  engaged  our  attention,  we 
have  been  led,  by  a  desire  of  preserving 
the  symbols  unbroken,  to  violate  the 
chronological  order  of  the  history.  We 
passed  from  the  Macedonian  goat, — the 
third  universal  monarchy,  to  consider 
his  little  horn,-^the  Mohammedan  sys- 
tem ;  to  which  a  part  of  his  power  was 
-transferred.  We  proceeded,  very  na- 
turally, from  the  head  of  Daniel's  non- 
descript, the  Roman  state,  to  contem- 
plate the  eleventh  horn, — the  Papacy  ; 
and  by  necessity,  have  been  carried  past 
many  events  of  very  great  interest  and 
importance  to  the  church  and  the  world. 
Both  of  these  persecuting  powers  grew 
up  in  the  year  606.  Beyond  that  date 
we  were  obliged  to  pass,  that  we  might, 
by  historical  facts,  locate  the  symbols 
respectively  above  all  doubt. 

But  the  six  intervening  centuries  are 
not  an  hiatus  in  the  great  system  of  pro- 
phecy. Nor  did  the  kingdoms  of  the 
little  stone  and  of  the  great  image  pursue 
each  its  own  distinct  and  independent 
course ;  so  as  to  avoid  all  collision  with 
the  other.  Far  from  it.  Their  interests 
are  too  perfectly  antagonistical  even  to 
enjoy  the  same  light  of  heaven,  and  to 
breathe  in  the  same  atmosphere  without 
an  encounter.  It  is  inherent  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  former, — for  this  purpose  it 
exists, — to  break  the  latter  in  pieces. 
Upon  the  feet  of  the  image  it  will  ever 
continue  to  strike,  until,  beneath  its  per- 


petual blows,  the  mighty  fabric  crum- 
bles. The  war  is  exterminating,  eternal. 
The  dragon  has  taken  his  seat  in  the 
seven-hilled  city ;  around  him  he  has 
gathered  the  trophies  of  the  vanquished 
nations ;  his  erect  crest  and  fiery  eye- 
balls gleam  fearfully  in  the  distance  and 
keep  the  world  in  awe.  But  strong  as 
is  his  hold,  terrific  his  power,  and  appa- 
rently uncontrolled  and  uncontrollable 
his  sway,  the  church  of  God  is  pledged 
for  his  destruction.  With  unblenching 
eye  she  marks  his  every  movement. 
His  snaky  folds  and  slippery  policy  shall 
never  entrap  and  enfold  her  to  her  un- 
doing. Clad  in  the  panoply  of  heaven, 
she  moves  on  to  the  conflict  firm  in  faith 
and  secure  of  victory. 

Preparatory  to  the  history  of  these 
wars,  during  the  first  ages  of  the  Chris- 
tian  dispensation,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  look  at  the  symbols  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament prophecy.  The  book  of  the  reve- 
lation of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave 
unto  him  and  he  to  his  servant  John, 
divides  itself  into  three  parts.  The  pro- 
phet was  commanded  to  write  the  things 
which  he  had  seen, — the  vision  of  the 
seven  gold  candlesticks  and  of  the  seven 
stars  :  "  and  the  things  which  are," — 
the  present  condition  of  the  churches — 
"  and  the  things  which  shall  be  here- 
after,"— the  prophecies  of  this  book ; 
from  which  last,  mainly,  it  is  called  the 
Apocalypse,  the  uncovering,  or  revela- 
tion. 

To  the  third  and  chief  subdivision  we 
come  in  this  fourth  chapter.  "  After 
this," — after  he  had  written  the  two 
former,  he  observed  a  door  opened  in 
heaven.  Heaven,  where  the  writer  is 
setting  forth  things  in  figurative  or  sym- 
bolical language,  means  the  church  of 
God.  The  apostle  had  just  been  ba- 
nished from  the  visible  church,  from  the 
society  and  fellowship  of  the  saints,  on 
account  of  "  the  word  of  God  and  the 
testimony  of  Jesus."  This  occurred  A.  D. 
95,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Domifian,  and  probably  about  the  nine- 
tieth of  John's  life.  The  "  open  door" 
in  heaven,  is  his  supernatural  enjoyment 
of  intercourse  with  the  church,  in  the 
very  views  which  were  here  given  of  her 


LECTURE  X. 


93 


trials  and  victories,  and  the  consequent 
joys  of  his  heart  in  this  communion. 

Under  the  Old  Testament  dispensa- 
tion, the  trumpet  was  used  as  the  official 
instrument  of  warning  and  of  command. 
It  belonged  to  the  priests  and  Levites 
alone  to  blow  the  trumpets  under  the 
provisions  of  law.  John  was  authori- 
tatively directed  to  arise  to  the  high, 
holy,  and  glorious  contemplation  of  the 
visions  now  about  to  be  presented. 
"  Come  up,  and  I  will  show  thee  things 
which  must  be  hereafter."  Immediately 
the  Almighty  Spirit  of  God,  who  can 
communicate  to  man's  spirit  whatever 
views  and  thoughts  he  pleases,  without 
and  independent  of  the  bodily  organs, 
descended  upon  him,  locked  up,  or  sus- 
pended the  exercise  of  the  physical 
powers,  and  gave  his  soul  a  view  of 
many  strange  and  interesting  things. 
The  first  object  in  the  vision,  is  the 
central  scene  of  all.  "  A  throne  was 
set  in  heaven."  A  throne  is  the  official 
seat  of  ruling  authority,  the  chair  of 
state  ;  the  sign,  therefore,  of  established, 
supreme  power.  This  throne  is  in  hea- 
ven,— the  church.  Jeremiah  says,  (iii. 
17,)  "  at  that  time  they  shall  call  Jeru- 
salem, the  throne  of  the  Lord  :  and  all 
the  nations  shall  be  gathered  unto  it ;" 
and,  (xvii.  12,)  "  a  glorious  high  throne 
from  the  beginning  is  the  place  of  our 
sanctuary." 

The  next  thing  noticed,  is  the  person 
who  sits  upon  the  throne.  We  are  not 
told  who  it  is,  as  in  Isaiah,  vi.  1  :  "  I 
saw  the  Lord  also,  sitting  upon  a  throne, 
high  and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled 
the  temple ;"  which  may  suffice  to  direct 
us  here.  The  occupant  of  the  throne  is 
Jehovah  :  not  the  Mediator,  but  the  God 
and  Father,  at  the  head  of  the  dispensa- 
tion of  grace,  conducting  the  whole  by 
agencies  of  his  own  appointment. 

His  appearance  is  briefly  described  : 
"  like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine  stone." 

Jasper  was  one  of  the  precious  stones 
which  were  set  in  the  breastplate  of  the 
high  priest,  (Ex.  xxviii.  17-20.)  It  was 
the  third  in  the  fourth  and  last  row,  and 
so,  the  last  of  the  twelve.  Its  colours 
are,  white,  yellow,  green,  red,  and  varie- 
gated.    The  most  valued  is  the  green, 


with  blood-red  spots.  What  the  hue  of 
that  on  the  breastplate  was,  we  cannot 
certainly  determine.  It  was  perhaps 
white,  a  symbol  of  moral  purity.  Of 
the  wall  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  (Rev. 
xxi.  18,)  "  the  first  foundation  was 
jasper." 

The  sardius  or  sardinus  is  a  red 
stone,  known  to  us  by  the  name  of  cor- 
nelian, and  was  the  first  gem  in  the  first 
row  on  the  breastplate  of  the  high  priest. 
It  is  the  sixth  of  the  foundations  in  the 
new  Jerusalem.  On  this  stone  was 
written  the  name  of  Reuben,  the  eldest 
son  of  Jacob,  and  on  the  jasper,  the 
name  of  Benjamin,  his  youngest.  It  is 
impossible,  therefore,  that  we  should 
have  any  difficulty  in  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  the  figures  in  the  present 
case.  The  precious  stones  represented 
the  tribes  whose  names  they  bore.  The 
last  and  the  first  are  here  mentioned,  as 
inclusive  of  all  between;  to  teach  us 
that  Jehovah,  whose  throne  is  in  Zion, 
claims  the  whole  church  as  his  own. 
Such,  in  general,  without  the  preciseness 
and  speciality  of  the  Hebrew  arrange- 
ment, is  the  figurative  use  of  precious 
stones  to  this  day.  The  crown  jewels 
are  emblems  of  the  people  over  whom 
the  sceptre  extends. 

The  third  object  of  attraction  is,  "  the 
rainbow  round  about  the  throne,  in  sight 
like  unto  an  emerald."  This  carries  us 
back  to  the  days  of  Noah.  Since  that 
period  the  bow  has  been  a  pledge  of 
peace,  love,  and  mercy.  It  was  given 
as  a  token  of  God's  covenant  with  Noah 
and  his  posterity;  a  memorial  of  the 
promise,  that  the  seasons  should  come 
in  their  course,  and  the  earth  no  more 
be  destroyed  by  a  flood. 

The  colour  is  green, — that  of  the 
emerald, — the  softest  and  most  pleasing 
to  the  eye  of  all  the  primary  colours  ; 
and  the  one  which  predominates  in  the 
natural  rainbow.  On  this  stone  in  the 
breastplate,  was  written  the  name  of 
Judah,  the  ruling  tribe,  and  the  one 
through  which  Messiah  descended. 

This  bright  bow  of  promise  arches 
the  throne  of  God's  dominion  in  his 
church ;  beautiful  type  of  that  glorious 
covenant,  which,  whilst  it  vindicates  with 


94 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


blood,  red  as  the  sardine  or  cornelian 
stone,  the  justice  of  God's  law,  holds 
up  his  mercy,  fresh  and  fadeless  as  the 
emerald,  to  the  admiring  gaze  of  the 
universe. 

The  fourth  object  of  contemplation  is 
the  circle  of  thrones,  which  surrounded 
the  great  central  throne.    Verse  4.  "And 
round  about  the  throne  were  four  and 
twenty  seats," — four  and  twenty  thrones, 
in   the    Greek.     It    is    the    same   word 
which  is  applied  to  the  one  throne,  only 
in  the  plural  number.     Now  if  fyjovog  be 
the  symbol  of  permanent,  fixed  power, 
surely  6fovoi  must  have  a  similar  signifi- 
cation.    What  good  and  sufficient  rea- 
son, therefore,  can  be  given  for  trans- 
lating the  latter  word,  seats?     It  is  not 
dealing  honestly  with  the  text,  and  with 
the    English    reader,  to    make    such    a 
change,   unless  there   be   something   in 
the    place,   to    render   it    indispensable. 
That  such  necessity  exists  in  the  pre- 
sent instance,  we  deny.     How  then  can 
the  alteration  be  accounted  for  1     Per- 
mit us  to  suggest,  that  our  translators 
lived  in  a  monarchical  government ;  and 
that  they  acted  under  the  order,  and  at 
the  expense  of  that  learned  English  mo- 
narch, whose   policy  was  embodied    in 
the  well  remembered  phrase,  "  no  bishop, 
no  king."     As  James  VI.  of  Scotland, 
he  put  forth  considerable  efforts  to  sup- 
press   the   republican    form    of   church 
government,  which  gives  the  lay  dele- 
gates, or  representatives  of  the  people, 
equal  power  with  the  clergy  in  govern- 
ing the  church  ;  and  which  asserts  the 
right  of  the  people  to  elect   their  own 
spiritual   rulers.     His    opinion,  that  all 
ruling  authority  was,  by  God   himself, 
deposited  with  the  king,  induced  him  to 
make  incredible  exertions    to   establish 
prelacy,  or  diocesan  episcopacy,  in  Scot- 
land.    He  plainly  saw,  that  his  idea  of 
the  divine  right  of  kings,  could  never  be 
forced  upon   a   people  who  maintained 
the  representative  democracy,  and  from 
this  resulted  his  unsuccessful  attempt  at 
the  establishment  of  episcopacy.     Now 
it  must  be  remembered,  that  our  trans- 
lators were  summoned  together  and  sup- 
ported by  this  same  king  ;  and  a  ma- 
jority of  them  were  in  the  interests  of 


prelacy.  These  things  would  of  course 
influence  them,  even  unwittingly,  to  use 
caution  lest  they  should  favour  Presby- 
terianism,  in  their  translation.  If  they 
had  rendered  the  words  "  four  and 
twenty  thrones,"  the  very  phrase  must 
have  alarmed  their  master,  who  could 
not  conceive  of  any  but  one  throne  in 
one  kingdom.  And  especially  would 
he  have  dreaded  the  consequences  of 
publishing,  in  the  language  of  the  people 
of  Scotland,  a  Bible  which  would  have 
presented  to  their  minds  the  conception 
of  four  and  twenty  thrones,  and  on  them 
seated  four  and  twenty  presbyters.  If 
presbyters, — elders, — are  represented  as 
sitting  on  thrones,  clothed  in  "  white 
raiment," — an  intimation  of  their  purity, 
and  of  the  upright  manner  in  which  they 
exercised  their  authority,  and  having  "  on 
their  heads  crowns  of  gold," — where 
then  are  the  bishops  to  sit  1  What 
higher  honours  are  reserved  for  them  1 

Now,  we  do  not  think  it  imputing  too 
much  to  human  weakness,  or  indeed,  it 
may  have  been  to  human  policy,  to  yield 
to  the  monarch's  whims,  in  order  to  place 
before'  the  world  a  translation,  after  all, 
incomparably  accurate.  The  same  spirit, 
either  of  servility  or  policy,  most  probably 
influenced  them  to  translate  stfitfxoTouj, 
in  Acts  xx.  28,  overseers.  Had  they 
represented  Paul  as  speaking  to  the  elders 
or  presbyters,  and  saying  to  them,  "take 
heed  to  all  the  flock,  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  you  bishops,"  as  he 
really  does  say,  King  James  would,  per- 
haps, have  taken  umbrage,  and  either 
have  suppressed  their  translation  or  alter- 
ed it  to  please  the  advocates  of  the  eccle- 
siastical aristocracy ;  and  to  shut  out 
from  the  mere  English  reader,  the  evi- 
dence which  this  passage  indubitably  does 
contain,  of  the  identity  of  the  office  of 
presbyter  and  bishop. 

Here  then,  is  presented  in  a  semicircle, 
in  front  of  the  throne,  the  imposing  spec- 
tacle of  twenty-four  other  thrones,  occu- 
pied by  twenty-four  presbyters,  arrayed 
in  white  raiment  and  with  crowns  of  gold 
on  their  heads.  A  crown  is  also  a  sym- 
bol of  ruling  power.  It  is  the  personal 
and  portable,  as  throne  is  the  fixed  em- 
blem of  the  same.    What  then  does  this 


LECTURE  X. 


95 


semicircle  of  thrones  typify?  Honesty 
cannot  possibly  mistake  the  general  an- 
swer. Their  number,  equalling  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  and  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb,  represents  the  ruling  pres- 
byters of  the  one  church  of  God,  which 
he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood. 
It  is  the  evident  design  of  the  vision,  to 
impress  upon  the  beholder's  mind,  the 
important  truth,  that  the  chief  ruler  who 
filled  the  central,  radiant  throne,  distri- 
buted his  power  and  governed  in  and 
through  the  agency  of  the  occupants  of 
the  twenty-four  thrones. 

The  fifth  matter  that  arrests  attention 
is  the  "  lightnings  and  voices  and  thun- 
derings,"  which  proceed  forth  from  the 
throne.  There  is  here  manifest  allusion 
to  the  giving  of  the  law  at  Sinai.  There, 
fire  was  seen  upon  the  mount;  there  was 
thunder, — the  terrible  natural  display  of 
divine  power  :  and  there  were  articulate 
voices,  when  the  ten  commandments 
were  distinctly  uttered.  These  bespeak 
the  glory  and  majesty  of  Him  who  is 
King  in  Zion  :  and  give  promise  for  their 
exercise  in  the  protection,  enlargement 
and  success  of  his  church. 

We  notice,  in  the  sixth  place,  "seven 
lamps  of  fire,  burning  before  the  throne, 
which  are  the  seven  spirits  of  God." 
Seven  is  the  number  of  perfection ;  so 
that  this  represents  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
all  that  fulness  of  influence,  which  he 
exercises  in  carrying  on  the  work  of 
grace  in  the  earth.  When  the  light  of 
the  gospel  emanates  from  the  divine 
throne,  the  spirit  accompanies,  and  ren- 
ders it  effectual.  When  God  speaks,  the 
spirit  wings  his  message  to  the  hearts  of 
men,  and  they  stand  in  awe. 

Verse  6.  "  And  before  the  throne, 
there  was  a  sea  of  glass  like  unto 
crystal ;"  a  transparent  surface,  clear 
and  plain.  Some  have  supposed,  that 
this  has  reference  to  the  laver  by  the 
tabernacle,  or  rather  Solomon's  brazen 
sea  before  the  temple ;  as  it  is  evident 
that  the  seven  lamps  of  fire  have  an  al- 
lusion to  the  golden  candlestick.  In  chap- 
ter xv.  2,  it  is,  however,  mentioned  in  a 
way,  which  seems  to  set  this  interpreta- 
tion entirely  aside.  He  there  saw  those 
who   had   gained  the  victory,  standing 


upon  the  sea  of  glass.  Ordinarily,  in 
figurative  language,  the  sea  represents 
an  agitated  state  of  society ;  but  here  it 
is  obvious,  that  the  sea  is  a  quiescent 
plain,  a  place  of  safety  and  rejoicing ; 
they  have  harps  in  their  hands,  and  are 
exulting  at  their  victory  over  all  that 
molested  them.  We  therefore  conclude, 
that  the  sea  of  glass  in  this  sixth  verse, 
is  simply  the  fore-ground  of  the  throne, 
and  the  platform  on  which  the  twenty- 
four  thrones  rest.  Its  transparency  repre- 
sents the  purity,  simplicity,  and  freedom 
from  guile,  of  those  who  stand  upon  it. 
They  have  no  concealments,  there  are 
no  upheavings  of  "  mire  and  dirt."  So, 
to  exhibit  the  purity,  beauty  and  guile- 
less simplicity  that  reign  in  the  New 
Jerusalem,  it  and  its  streets  are  said  to 
be  of  pure  and  transparent  glass,  (xxi. 
18,  21.) 

The  eighth  particular  which  attracts 
notice,  is  the  four  living  creatures.  Verse 
6.  "  And  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and 
round  about  the  throne,  were  four  beasts, 
full  of  eyes  before  and  behind." 

In  approaching  the  exposition  of  this 
and  the  succeeding  verses,  the  first  re- 
mark regards  the  name, — "  beasts."  It 
is  an  unhappy  translation.  A  beast  sym- 
bolizes violence  and  cruelty,  as  we  saw 
whilst  expounding  Daniel's  visions.  John 
also  uses  the  word  in  this  sense,  as  we 
shall  very  fully  see  hereafter.  To  repre- 
sent any  holy,  spiritual  agency  that  God 
uses  near  his  throne,  by  the  same  word, 
would  be  utterly  to  disregard  the  natural 
suitableness  of  symbols.  This  were  as 
unseemly  as  to  speak  of  the  people  of 
God  under  the  idea  of  sheep,  and  their 
spiritual  rulers  as  wolves.  Such  impro- 
prieties are  never  chargeable  upon  the 
prophetic  types  :  the  apostle  is  not  guilty 
of  such  error.  When  he  speaks  of  the 
great  persecuting  power,  he  calls  it  a 
beast,  (Rev.  xiii.  1.)  "And  I  stood  upon 
the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  saw  a  beast  rise 
up  out  of  the  sea,  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns."  Here  the  word  is  ^pi'ov, 
a  beast  of  prey,  wild,  devouring,  fero- 
cious. But  the  word  before  us  is  quite 
different ;  it  is  simply  a  living  one  ;  and 
its  essential  meaning  intimates  a  relation 
to  Christ  himself.     "  I  am  he  that  liveth 


96 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


and  was  dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  for 
ever  more."  (Rev.  i.  18.)  I  am,  6  ZtDv, 
he  that  liveth — so  here  we  have  the  word 
Zwa — living  ones. 

The  second  thing  requiring  our  notice 
is  the  relative  position  of  these  four 
living  creatures, — "  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne,  and  round  about  the  throne." 
The  central  throne  is  the  one  alluded  to. 
But  what  idea  of  their  position  can  be 
gathered  from  this  description, — "  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne]"  There  is  already 
a  glorious  personage  seated  in  the  throne ; 
how  then  is  it  possible,  that  there  should 
be  four  others  "  in  the  midst  of  it ;"  and 
especially  with  our  translation,  four 
beasts  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  ?  This 
is  certainly  inconceivable ;  how  then 
could  it  be  practicable  1 

But  again,  these  four  beasts  are  not 
only  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  pre- 
viously occupied  by  him  whose  appear- 
ance is  "  like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine 
stone;"  but,  they  are  also  "round  about 
the  throne  !"  Surely  such  enigmas  are 
not  set  forth  for  our  instruction  :  they 
could  only  bewilder  and  mislead. 

These  difficulties  vanish  upon  a  right 
understanding  of  the  terms.  The  words 
translated  in  the  midst,  when  two  ob- 
jects are  presented  in  connexion  with 
them,  signify  the  space  betiveen  them  : 
and  when  one  object  only  is  presented, 
they  mean  the  space  between  the  extreme 
parts  of  that  one  object.  The  clearest 
mode  of  exhibiting  the  sense,  in  the 
former  case,  is  to  translate  them  by  the 
word  betv:ee?i.  John  saw,  "  between 
the  throne  and  the  circle  of  the  throne, 
four  living  creatures."  Now,  the  circle 
is  the  four  and  twenty  thrones  and  pres- 
byters :  between  these  and  the  central 
throne,  were  seen  these  living  ones.  So 
in  chapter  v.  6,  "  And  I  beheld,  and  lo, 
in  the  midst, — between  the  throne  and 
the  four  living  creatures,  and  in  the 
middle  space  between  the  extreme  parts 
of  the  elders,  stood  a  lamb."  This 
mode  of  translation,  which  we  submit 
without  much  apprehension,  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  Greek  scholar,  makes 
perfectly  plain  and  intelligible  a  passage 
in  chap.  xxii.  2,  which  no  commentator 
has  succeeded  in  explaining  for  want  of 


it.  "  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it, 
and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  the  tree 
of  life."  More  literally,  "  In  the  midst 
of  its  street  and  of  the  river,  on  this 
side  and  on  that  side."  This,  however, 
has  baffled  commentators  exceedingly. 
But  now  read  simply,  "  between  the 
street  of  it  and  the  river,  on  this  side 
and  on  that  side."  Then  there  is  pre- 
sented,- the  river  of  the  water  of  life, 
and  a  golden  street  on  each  side  of  it ; 
and  on  each  side  an  open  space,  between 
the  river  and  the  street,  planted  with  the 
tree  of  life.  This  accords  exactly  with 
Ezekiel's  vision  in  reference  to  the  same 
matter,  (xlvii.  7-12.)  "  And  by  the 
river,  upon  the  bank  thereof,  on  this 
side  and  on  that,  shall  grow  all  trees  for 
meat." 

The  relative  position  of  the  living 
creatures,  is  however  less  difficult  to 
settle  than  their  symbolical  character, 
their  moral  locality,  if  we  may  so  ex- 
press it.  A  proper  understanding  of  the 
former,  will  assist  us  in  the  latter  ques- 
tion :  still  we  must  depend  more  upon, 
and  shall  be  aided  more  by,  their  far- 
ther description. 

"  They  are  full  of  eyes  before  and  be- 
hind." The  multitude  of  eyes  bespeaks 
a  high  degree  of  intelligence.  What- 
ever the  creatures  designate,  they  are 
characterized  by  accurate  observation 
and  the  consequent  acquisition  of  ex- 
tensive knowledge.  These  numberless 
eyes  look  in  both  directions,  so  that  the 
living  ones  see  what  transpires  toward 
and  upon  the  central  throne,  and  also, 
toward  and  upon  the  four  and  twenty 
thrones  and  beyond  them.  Vigilance 
that  never  slumbers  is  most  forcibly 
represented  by  this  peculiar  feature. 

Verse  7.  The  faces  of  these  living 
ones  were  various.  The  first  was  like 
a  lion, — bold,  courageous,  strong.  The 
second  like  a  calf  or  ox, — patient  to 
endure  labour.  The  third  had  a  face  as 
a  man, — intelligent,  kind,  and  compas- 
sionate. The  fourth  was  like  a  flying 
eagle, — of  a  keen  and  penetrating  vision, 
and  a  daring  and  lofty  flight,  that  scorns 
the  low  pursuits  of  earth  and  the  dwellers 
in  the  vale. 

Verse  8.  "  And  the  four  living  crea- 


LECTURE  X. 


97 


tures  had  each  of  them  six  wings  about 
him."  The  wing  is  a  universal  emblem 
of  rapidity  of  motion,  and  the  six  in- 
dicate this  property  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree.  These  are  messengers  to  be 
employed  on  embassies  requiring  de- 
spatch. 

"  And  they  are  full  of  eyes  within." 
Their  eyes  before  and  behind  exhibit 
their  perpetual  external  observation : 
these  depict  with  equal  force  their  self- 
inspection.  The  beings  shadowed  forth 
by  them,  are  characterized  by  self- 
knowledge  and  conscientious  inward 
vigilance.  The  apostle  proceeds  to  de- 
scribe their  incessant  activity, — they 
have  no  rest.  He  does  not  mean  that 
they  are  uneasy,  like  wild  animals  in  a 
cage  ;  but  they  know  no  pause  or  ces- 
sation in  their  delightful  employment ; 
but  are  ever  engaged  in  proclaiming  the 
glory  of  the  triune  God  ;  saying  "  Holy, 
holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
was  and  is  and  is  to  come.  And  when 
those  living  creatures  give  glory,  and 
honour,  and  thanks,  to  him  that  sat  on 
the  throne,  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
the  four  and  twenty  presbyters  fall  down 
before  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  and 
worship  him  that  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever,  and  cast  their  crowns  before  the 
throne,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy,  O 
Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honour  and 
power  :  for  thou  hast  created  all  things, 
and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were 
created."  Thus  these  enthroned  pres- 
byters, —  these  x  golden-crowned  elders, 
acknowledge  that  their  whole  power  of 
ruling  is  derived  from  the  divine  throne; 
and  dependent  on  him  that  sitteth 
thereon. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  investigation 
of  these  gorgeous  emblems,  and  inquire 
into  their  hidden  meaning. 

We  have  already  settled  the  central 
point.  God's  throne  is  in  Zion.  The 
bow  of  promise,  flourishing  in  the  eme- 
rald greenness  of  unfading  beauty,  links 
the  white  jasper  of  Benjamin  to  the  red 
sardius  of  Reuben,  and  binds  the  twelve 
gems  of  Israel  together  in  the  coronet 
of  the  Eternal.  Proceeding  from  this  all- 
glorious  centre,  we  find  standing  next  to 
the  divine  throne,  the  blessed  Mediator, 

13 


the  Lamb  that  was  slain  ;  and  with  him 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  Their  position 
is  between  the  throne  and  the  living 
creatures,  and  between  the  extremes  of 
the  circling  twenty-four  thrones.  We 
have  also  seen,  that  here  stand  seven 
lamps  of  fire ;  here  is  the  sacred  Spirit, 
who  always  accompanies  the  Mediator's 
work. 

And  next  to  the  slain  Lamb  and  his 
Spirit,  whom  shall  we  expect  to  meet  as  we 
travel  outward  along  the  smooth  plain  of 
the  crystalline  sea?  Who  approach  near- 
est to  the  most  holy  and  sacred  presence  of 
the  God  of  mercy  ?  Who,  in  the  church, — 
for  be  it  remembered,  this  glorious  scene 
is  laid  in  the  church, — who  then  of  all 
the  flock  stand  nearest  to  the  Master 
Shepherd?  The  living  creatures,  there- 
fore, are  the  symbols  of  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation,  the  preachers  of  the  ever- 
lasting gospel,  the  men  who  stand  be- 
tween the  living  God,  and  a  dead  world, 
and  command  in  his  name  the  dry 
bones  to  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord.* 

That  they  are  not  angels  is  demon- 
strated by  the  fact,  that  they  fall  down 
and  worship  God,  and  say,  "  thou  wast 
slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by 
thy  blood,"  (chap.  v.  9.)  A  very  brief 
notice  of  their  relative  position  and  their 
leading  characteristics,  will  place  beyond 
all  doubt,  in  the  mind  of  every  candid 
person,  the  fact,  that  they  represent  the 
gospel  ministry.  Their  relative  position. 
They  occupy  the  middle  space  between 
the  twenty-four  presbyters,  and  the 
Lamb,  who  stands  between  them  and 
the  throne.  Jesus  is  the  Mediator  be- 
tween the  holy  God  and  sinful  man, 
and  he  employs  the  agency  of  men  in 
carrying  out  his  work  of  government, 
and  of  grace.  Under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, the  priests  and  Levites  only  ap- 
proached to  God  in  the  tabernacle  :  and 
the  apostles  and  evangelists  associated 
with  Jesus  in  the  days  of  his  flesh. 

Mark  now  their  characteristics. 

1.  They  are  full  of  eyes.     The  true 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  been 
pleased  to  observe  a  coincidence  of  sentiment, 
in  an  essay  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Carrol  of  New- 
burg,  N.  Y.    (See  Christian   Magazine.    Ap. 

No.  1838.) 


98 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ministers  of  Christ  have  been  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  the  depositaries  of  moral 
and  religious  knowledge,  and  the  chan- 
nels of  its  communication  from  God  to 
men.  We  may  even  lay  down  a  broader 
proposition,  and  affirm  that  they  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  the  eyes  of  gene- 
ral science.  Literature  and  learning  look 
to  them  as  their  great  patrons.  Where 
shine  the  beacon-lights  of  science,  that 
have  not  been  kindled  by  the  tapers  of 
the  church?  Where  is  the  unbelieving 
philosopher,  that  does  not  owe  even  his 
capacity  of  traducing  the  ministers  of 
God,  to  the  literary  instruction  afforded 
by  those  very  men  ? 

The  eye,  moreover,  is  all-important 
to  the  sentinel.  His  province  it  is  to 
look  out  for  danger,  and  to  warn  of  its 
approach.  And  who,  in  all  the  world, 
have  exercised  a  more  sleepless  vigilance 
than  the  watchmen  of  Zion  ?  Their  eyes 
are  always  directed  to  the  divine  throne, 
that  they  may  learn  and  ever  know  the 
will  of  their  Master;  and  yet,  they  are 
ever  toward  the  church,  and  its  subor- 
dinate officers.  Describing  false  pre- 
tenders to  the  sacred  office,  Isaiah  says, 
"  His  watchmen  are  blind,  they  are  all 
ignorant,  they  are  all  dumb  dogs,  they 
cannot  bark  ;  sleeping,  lying  down,  lov- 
ing to  slumber,"  (Ivi.  10.)  But  speaking 
of  the  true  servant  of  God,  he  says,  "  1 
have  set  watchmen  upon  thy  walls,  O 
Jerusalem,  which  shall  never  hold  their 
peace  day  nor  night,"  (lxii.  6.)  It  is 
a  ceaseless  vigil  which  they  maintain. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  pastors  of 
churches  are  called  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment bishops,  that  is,  inspectors,  over- 
seers. And  who  can  be  ignorant  of  the 
untiring  energy  and  weighty  influence, 
through  his  extensive  learning,  which 
one  of  these  ministers  of  God  exercised 
among  that  band  of  eagle-eyed  patriots, 
who  guided  our  political  bark  through 
the  stormy  ocean  of  our  ever-blessed 
revolution?  On  the  illuminated  scroll 
of  a  nation's  history,  amid  the  lists  of  the 
noble  and  the  brave,  none  stands  forth 
more  honoured  and  revered  for  keenness 
of  penetration,  for  moral  strength  and 
soundness,  and  consequently,  for  prac- 
tical sway,  in  that  assembly  of  mighty 


minds,  than  the  name  of  the  Scottish 
Presbyter.  Deeply  had  he  studied,  in 
his  native  land,  the  spirit  that  had  been 
incarnate  in  the  house  of  Stuart,  and 
that  had  passed  to  their  successors  on 
the  throne  of  the  three  kingdoms.  Close- 
ly also  had  he  investigated  the  doctrine 
of  representation,  as  it  had  been  em- 
bodied, ever  since  the  days  of  John  Knox, 
in  the  church  of  his  own  land.  And 
therefore,  well  was  he  prepared  to  sway 
for  good  the  counsels  of  his  adopted 
country. 

2.  The  second  characteristic  of  the 
gospel  ministry  is  their  boldness.  When- 
ever the  providence  of  God  called  for  it, 
lion-hearted  courage  stood  forth,  to  the 
wonder,  and  often  the  vexation  and  dis- 
may of  the  church's  persecuting  enemies. 
"The  righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion." 
Mark  the  intrepidity  of  Paul  before 
Agrippa, — on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens, — 
amid  the  tossings  of  the  tempestuous 
ocean, — in  the  face  of  the  mob  at  Jeru- 
salem, at  Ephesus,  at  Philippi.  Look 
at  Huss,  before  the  council  of  Constance, 
and  the  pile  of  burning  faggots, — at  Lu- 
ther, the  lion  of  the  Reformation,  whom 
no  threatenings  of  enemies  and  no  en- 
freatings  of  friends  could  restrain  from 
the  Diet  of  Worms  ;  who,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Pope's  legate,  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  the  Roman  Catholic  nobility, 
and  the  entire  host  of  Pelagian  doctors, 
feared  not  to  assert  the  grand  principles 
of  Christianity.  Where  can  we  find  a 
picture  of  greater  moral  sublimity  than 
the  heroic  reformer  presents,  as  he  ex- 
claims, with  hand  uplifted,  and  eye 
glancing  toward  heaven,  "  Here  I  stand. 
I  cannot  do  otherwise.  God  help  me. 
Amen  !"  Lift  your  eye  to  the  Alps,  and 
behold  Zuingle,  the  eagle  of  Northern 
Switzerland ;  then  let  it  fall  upon  the 
city  at  their  base,  and  think  of  the  Paul 
of  the  Reformation.  Read  his  letter 
to  Francis  I.,  a  production  which,  as  it 
issued  from  the  pen  of  the  first  scholar 
of  his  day,  stands  even  yet  among  the 
very  proudest  productions  of  literary 
genius.  In  its  onward  sweep,  let  your 
vision  pause  upon  the  rugged  mountains 
of  Scotland.  Listen  to  the  splendid  eu- 
logy pronounced  over  the  body  of  Knox 


LECTURE  X. 


99 


by  the  Regent  Morton,  "  there  lies  he 
who  never  feared  the  face  of  man  ;" 
then  pay  the  meed  that  is  due  to  the 
dauntless  reformer  of  Northern  Britain. 
Truly  does  the  lion's  face  represent  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  ministry. 

3.  Another  characteristic  is,  the  pa- 
tient endurance  of  toil.  "  Much  increase 
is  by  the  labour  of  the  ox."  By  the 
uncomplaining  endurance  of  her  minis- 
ters is  the  church  increased  ;  by  their 
slaughter  is  she  fed.  On  them  falls  the 
stroke  of  persecution.  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church.  When 
the  ox  has  performed  his  day's  toil,  he 
is  released  from  the  yoke,  and  sent  to 
gather  his  own  food,  from  a  scanty  pas- 
turage,—  perhaps  from  the  wayside. 
So,  alas,  is  it  too  often  with  those  who 
expend  their  strength  in  the  great  work 
of  disseminating  the  gospel. 

4.  The  next  trait  to  be  noted  is  hu- 
manity. Affectionate  sympathy  with  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  sorrow,  is  ever 
allowed  to  be  a  quality  of  God's  true 
and  faithful  servants. 

5.  The  eagle,  in  the  elevation  of  his 
flight,  and  the  keenness  of  his  vision, 
beautifully  represents  that  loftiness  of 
soul,  that  singleness  of  heart,  that  quick- 
ness of  penetration  and  promptness  of 
action,  which  well  become  those  men 
who  minister  in  God's  great  name,  and 
act  as  sentinels,  to  guard  his  timid  flock 
in  this  wilderness  world. 

6.  Connected  less  directly  in  the  text, 
than  in  sentiment  and  feeling,  are  the 
inwardly  directed  eyes  of  the  messengers 
of  peace.  They  are  self-searching  men. 
They  are  required,  first  of  all,  to  exa- 
mine themselves,  before  making  a  tender 
of  their  services  to  the  Captain  of  salva- 
tion. "  Let  every  man  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind."  This  distin- 
guishes a  true  from  a  false  ministry. 

7.  The  heralds  of  mercy  to  a  ruined 
world,  ought  to  move  with  rapidity.  In 
like  manner,  these  symbolic  animals 
have  each  six  wings.  The  same  truth 
is  taught  in  chap.  xiv.  6,  where  an 
angel  is  seen  flying  through  the  midst 
of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel 
to  preach. 

8.  Their   incessant    services  indicate 


the  same.  They  are  ever  engaged  in 
celebrating  the  praises  of  the  three  Holy 
Ones,  who  exist  in  the  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty. This  is,  indeed,  common  to 
all  holy  beings  ;  but  it  seems  evidently 
here  to  sustain  an  official  relation  to  the 
church. 

Whilst  these  solemn  and  sacred  ser- 
vices proceed,  the  four  and  twenty  elders 
prostrate  themselves  and  worship. 

These  presbyters  represent  the  ruling 
authority  in  the  church  ;  and  here  is  the 
key  to  unlock  the  whole  arcana  of  these 
symbols.  The  office  of  presbyter  was 
perfectly  familiar  to  John.  They  are 
the  council  of  rulers  in  Zion  :  they  act 
for  the  people,  and  over  them.  They 
here  prostrate  themselves,  and  cast  their 
crowns,  not  before  the  living  creatures. 
They  owe  no  subjection  to  them.  They 
derive  not  their  authority  from  them,  but 
their  crowns  are  subject  to  Jehovah,  and 
to  him  is  their  allegiance  due,  and  their 
homage  paid. 

From  Doctor  McLeod  we  are  obliged 
to  differ  in  this  part  of  the  exposition. 
He  makes  the  twenty-four  elders  stand 
for  the  whole  body  of  God's  worshipping 
people;  whereas,  we  cannot  think  it 
possible  to  complete  the  figure,  without 
adhering  to  the  direct  and,  in  this  point, 
literal  application.  The  major  part  of 
the  church  are  still  without  this  circle  ; 
for  the  whole  scene  is  in  the  church, 
and  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand,  and  the  multitude  innume- 
rable, mentioned  afterwards,  are  this 
mass  of  the  true  church. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  glorious  repre- 
sentation of  that  spiritual  government 
which  God  has  established,  and  is  con- 
ducting in  his  church,  and  by  which  he 
will  cast  down  all  the  thrones  of  iniquity, 
and  break  off  the  yoke  which  Antichrist 
has  imposed  upon  the  necks  of  the  na- 
tions. Out  from  beneath  the  emerald 
arch,  where  sits  the  J^ord  God  Almighty 
upon  his  throne,  must  proceed,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  the 
Spirit  of  all  grace,  those  holy  doctrines, 
and  those  energetic  influences  ;  which 
shall,  through  the  visible  agency  of  the 
living  ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
elders  of  the  churches,  destroy  the  great 


100 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


image,  and  make  the  little  stone  a  great 
mountain. 

These  figures  are  not  wholly  new. 
The  same  things  are  substantially  set 
forth  by  the  Cherubim  and  Seraphim  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  will  engage 
our  notice  in  the  next  lecture. 

A  few  reflections,  which  are  suggested 
by  the  subject  under  consideration,  will 
•form  our  conclusion. 

1.  Man  cannot  deprive  his  brother  of 
the  enjoyment  of  communion  with  God 
and  his  church.  Domitian,  the  Lion, 
as  Paul  called  Nero,  had  banished  the 
apostle  to  a  barren  island,  in  the  hope 
that  he  would  be  cut  off  from  his  friends 
and  his  God,  and  might  perish  ;  but  God 
dwelt  in  Patmos,  and  the  most  glorious 
of  all  his  visions,  he  exhibited  there. 
The  enemy's  triumph  was  but  short. 
Domitian,  the  last  of  the  twelve  Csesars, 
was  assassinated  by  his  wife,  the  very 
year  of  the  apostle's  banishment,  where- 
upon the  exile  was  restored  to  liberty. 
God  permits  the  enemy  of  souls  to  pre- 
vail only  so  far  as  may  be  for  the  best 
interests  of  his  church,  in  the  issue. 

2.  The    Most   High  dwells  in  Zion  ; 
Jerusalem  is  his  throne ;  his  church  is 
the  jewel    of   his    crown.       "  He   that 
toucheth  you,"  saith  he  to  her,  "  touch- 
eth  the  apple  of  his  eye."     "  Sing  and 
rejoice,  O  daughter  of  Zion  :  for  lo,  I 
come,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of 
thee,  saith   the  Lord,"  (Zech.  ii.  8,  10.) 
Hence,  we   may  safely  infer,  the   infal- 
lible security  of  his  church.     He  who 
.dwells  in  her  is  mighty  to  save.     "  God 
is  in  the  midst  of  her  ;  she  shall  not  be 
moved  :    God  shall  help  her,  and   that 
right   early,"   (Ps.   xlvi.    5.)     "  For    I, 
saith  the  Lord,  will  be  unto  her  a  wall 
of  fire    round    about,  and   will    be   the 
glory  in   the  midst   of  her."     What  a 
feeling  of  security,  and  consequent  hap- 
piness, must    fill    the    mind  where  this 
faith    dwells !     How    fearless    must   be 
his    spirit    who    knows    that    Almighty 
Power  is  pledged  for  his  defence  !    This 
is  the    secret    of   true  moral    heroism. 
Thus  is  explained  the  philosophy,  other- 
wise mysterious,  of  the  facts  exhibited 
in  the  martyrology  of  the  church. 

3.  Civil  government  has  a  deep  inte- 


rest in  the  purity  of  the  church.  To 
her  is  it  indebted  for  all  its  accurate 
knowledge  of  those  truths,  which  secure 
the  commonwealth  in  an  upright  civil 
administration.  Indeed,  we  must,  in 
justice  to  her,  go  farther,  and  affirm, 
that  she, — at  least  her  members,  and 
by  reason  of  her  moral  force,  are  chiefly 
instrumental  in  keeping  up  the  fires 
which  burn  upon  the  altars  of  natural 
science  ;  and  which  are  so  necessary  to 
national  prosperity.  The  church  is  the 
salt  of  the  earth,  and  the  luminary  of 
the  world. 

4.  A  learned  ministry,  learned  in 
literature  and  science,  in  morals  and 
in  arts,  as  well  as  in  theology,  is  all 
important  to  the  prosperous  administra- 
tion of  civil  as  well  as  religious  affairs. 
They  must  have  eyes  without  and  within. 
If  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both  will  be 
likely  to  fall,  and  plunge  into  the  ditch 
of  self-righteousness  and  crime.  A 
blind  sentinel,  and  a  dumb  dog,  that 
cannot  bark,  will  contribute  little  to  the 
safety  of  a  city.  An  uneducated  minis- 
try is  a  curse  to  the  church  :  better  she 
had  no  teachers,  than  be  taught  by  igno- 
rance :  for  darkness  cannot  engender 
light.  Where  narrow-minded  men  are 
the  spiritual  teachers,  the  Bible  ceases 
to  be  understood,  and  the  people  are  on 
the  downward  course  toward  barbarian- 
ism.  "  Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
that  he  will  send  forth  labourers  into  the 
harvest." 


LECTURE  XI. 

THE  CHERUBIM  ABE  SYMBOLS  OF  THE 
MINISTERS  OF  MERCY,  AND  SUBSTAN- 
TIALLY IDENTICAL  WITH  THE  FOUR 
LIVING  CREATURES  OF  JOHN. 


Ezek.  x.,  xli. — 2  Chron.  iii. — 1  Kings  iii. 
Exod.  xxv. — Gen.  iii.  24. 


The  generic  meaning  of  the  Hebrew 
word  cherub,  the  plural  of  which  is 
cherubim,  is  not  settled  with  certainty. 
Some  critics  refer  it  to  an  Arabic  source, 
and  infer  the  meaning  to  be  nearness, 


LECTURE  XI. 


101 


contiguity \ — hence,  a  minister  or  ser- 
vant.:  and  thus  cherubim  are  the  ser- 
vants of  God.  Others  deduce  it  from 
two  Arabic  words,  which  signify  "as," 
or  "  like  to  a  boy."  They  are  most  pro- 
bably correct,  who  form  the  word  from 

a  Hebrew  term  that  means  to  ride,  (Dill} 

raukab,)  by  an  interchange  of  two  of  the 
letters.  This  is  the  opinion  of  Poole.  We 
have  the  original,  and  the  derived  word 
brought  into  immediate  connexion  in  Ps. 
xviii.  10.  The  Jehovah  '■'■rode  upon  a 
cherub,  and  did  fly."  With  a  very  slight 
modification,  the  word  here  translated, 
rode,  is  used  to  signify  the  car  or  vehicle 
of  the  cherub,  in  1  Chron.  xxviii.  18: — 
"  and  gold  for  the  pattern  of  the  chariot 
of  the  cherubim." 

But  we  depend  not  upon  remote  and 
difficult  derivation  for  the  meaning  of 
terms.  Many  words  are  used  in  very 
different  senses  from  those  which  their 
history  would  indicate.  Our  only  safe 
method  is  to  refer  to  the  places  where  a 
given  word  is  used,  and  to  examine  it  in 
these  various  places :  and  thus  it  is  that 
the  signification  is  determined.  We  will 
pursue  this  method.  We  will  refer  to 
all  the  passages  in  which  the  word 
cherub  and  cherubim,  are  employed  in 
the  Bible.  If  we  shall  discover  that  it 
is  always  used  as  the  name  of  certain 
figures  of  animals,  less  or  more  com- 
plex, but  not  any  of  them  exact  like- 
nesses of  any  real  existence,  and  always 
in  connexion  with  a  revelation  of  God  s 
mercy,  we  shall  be  shut  up  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  the  cherubim  are  emblematic 
of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  The 
plan  of  God  in  his  revelation,  is  charac- 
terized by  progression.  First,  an  obscure 
hint ;  then  a  plainer  statement ;  then  a 
bright  and  clear  shining  of  truth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Let  us 
therefore,  having  already  dwelt  upon  the 
evidence,  full  and  undoubted,  of  the  sym- 
bolical character  of  the  living  creatures 
of  John,  take  a  retrograde  movement, 
and  carry  back  with  us  into  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, the  more  lucid  language  of  the 
New,  thus  making  scripture  the  ex- 
pounder of  scripture. 

We  find  three  notable  occasions  on 


which  the  cherubim  appear.  First,  in 
the  visions  of  Ezekiel.  Second,  the 
vision  of  Moses  at  Sinai,  which  was 
embodied  in  the  covering  of  the  ark, 
and  in  the  temple  of  Solomon.  And 
third,  at  the  garden  of  Eden. 

First.  Ezekiel's  prophetic  visions.  It 
is  plain,  that  in  chapter  xxxvii.  and  on- 
ward, he  is  describing  a  state  yet  future, 
of  the  Jewish  church,  or  rather  of  the 
house  of  Israel.  "  These  bones  are  the 
whole  house  of  Israel."  Now,  it  will  be 
recollected,  that  Ezekiel  was  among  the 
captives,  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans, 
(ch.  i.  1,2,  3.)  These  prophecies  may 
therefore,  have  a  primary  reference  to 
the  partial  restoration  by  the  orders  of 
Cyrus,  Artaxerxes,  and  other  Persian 
kings.  Yet,  we  think  no  one  who  reads 
the  prophecies  and  the  histories,  can  be- 
lieve that  they  fully  accord  to  one  an- 
other. The  wars  of  Gog  and  Magog, 
described  in  chapters  xxxviii.  and  xxxix. 
are  most  certainly  yet  unfulfilled:  and 
the  glorious  state  of  the  church,  depicted 
under  the  notion  of  a  city  measured  off 
with  a  reed,  and  of  a  temple  great  and 
gorgeous,  with  chambers  and  galleries 
and  carved  work  of  cherubim  and  palm 
trees,  is  surely  yet  future.  This  entire 
description,  which  closes  the  book  with 
a  survey  of  the  location  of  the  twelve 
tribes,  different  from  any  thing  hereto- 
fore existing,  does  certainly  symbolize 
Zion,  inclusive  of  the  literal  descendants 
of  Abraham,  in  her  millennial  splendour. 
The  waters  which  issue  out  from  the 
temple,  and  become  an  impassable  river, 
— waters  to  swim  in, — most  forcibly  and 
beautifully  set  forth  the  spiritual  influ- 
ences that  accompany  the  preached  gos- 
pel. These  constitute  the  river  on  whose 
"  banks  grow  all  trees  for  meat,  whose 
leaf  shall  not  fade,  neither  shall  the  fruit 
thereof  be  consumed  :  it  shall  bring  forth 
new  fruit  according  to  his  months,  be- 
cause their  waters,  they  issued  out  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  the  fruit  thereof  shall  be 
for  meat,  and  the  leaf  thereof  for  medi- 
cine," (ch.  xlvii.  1-12.)  "In  the  middle 
space,  between  the  street  and  the  river, 
on  each  side  of  the  river,  were  there  the 
trees  of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner 
of  fruits,  and   yielded   her   fruit  every 


102 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


month,  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were 
for  the  healing  of  the  nations,"   (Rev. 
xxii.  2.)     It  is  surely  not  possible,  for 
any  intelligent  mind,  to  read  Ezekiel's 
and  John's  descriptions  respectively,  and 
compare  them  together,  without  a  tho- 
rough conviction  that  they  are  designed 
to   represent   the   same   general  matter. 
They  are  symbolical  prophecies  of  the 
future  glory  of  one  and  the  same  church 
of  God.     Every  such  reader  may,  and 
will  doubtless,  be  at  a  loss  as  to  some  of 
the  minor  items  of  these  figures ;    but 
none  can  miss  the  general  resemblance, 
and  fail  to  perceive  the  substantial  iden- 
tity.    John's    living   creatures    are    the 
types  of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation 
in  the  church,  of  which  that  ministry  is 
itself  a  part:  and  so  also  are  Ezekiel's 
cherubim  emblematic  of  the  same.     But 
before  we  close  this  argument,  it  behooves 
us  to  inspect  the  prophet's  language  in 
the  early  part  of  his  prophecy.  In  chap. 
i.  4,  he  thus  begins  his  description,  "And 
I  looked,  and  behold,  a  whirlwind  came 
out  of  the  north,  a  great  cloud,  and  a 
fire  infolding  itself,  and  a  brightness  was 
about  it."    Though  the  word  is  different 
here,  from  that  used  in  Gen.  iii.  24,  where 
Moses  describes  the  cherubim  and  the 
flaming  sword  turning  every  ivay,  yet 
it  is  equivalent  in  meaning,  and  exactly 
similar  in  construction.     In  Genesis  it  is 
a  flame  of  a  sword  turning  upon  itself, — 
revolving  itself,  or  more  literally,  taking 
hold  of  itself, — a  circular  flame.  He  then 
presents  "the  likeness  of  four  living  crea- 
tures ;"  where  he  uses  the  precise  word 
which  corresponds  to  the  living  creatures 
of  John,  and  which  is  so  translated  in 
the  Septuagint.     These  living  ones  are 
here  delineated  with  greater  complexity, 
and,  of  course,  are  more  difficult  to  be 
understood,  than  in  John's  version.    But 
whilst  we  cannot  undertake  to  make  the 
whole  description  plain,  yet  we  can  find 
all  the  essential  features  of  each  in  both: 
or  in  other  words,  an  essential  agreement. 
They  have  each  four  faces : — those  of  a 
man,  a  lion,  an  eagle,  and  an  ox,  differ- 
ing in  this  from  John's  Zwa,  only  in  the 
combination,  of  the  four  in  each  living 
one;  intimating,  however,  the  same  gene- 
ral  sentiment.     They  have   each    four 


wings ;  John's  have  six.  These  living 
creatures  vary  from  John's,  in  the  ap- 
pendage of  rings  or  wheels,  which  are 
also  symbolical  of  rapid  motion.  The 
whole  picture  is  difficult  to  comprehend; 
but  it  represents  a  chariot  or  triumphal 
car,  so  constructed  as  to  run  in  any  and 
every  direction, — north,  south,  east  and 
west, — on  the  four  sides,  without  the  ne- 
cessity and  the  delay  of  performing  a 
tedious  and  circuitous  evolution  :  "  they 
turned  not  as  they  went."  There  was  a 
face  looking  every  way,  and  a  power 
of  immediate  motion  in  any  direction. 
Above  the  living  creatures,  was  a  gor- 
geous canopy,  or  firmament  of  dazzling 
brightness.  "  And  the  likeness  of  the 
firmament,  upon  the  heads  of  the  living 
creatures,  was  as  the  colour  of  the  terrible 
crystal,  stretched  forth  over  their  heads 
above,"  (verse  22.)  Over  this  firma- 
ment or  expanse,  this  concave  canopy  of 
brilliant  hue,  was  a  throne,  and  one  sat 
upon  the  throne.  (Verse  26),  "  And 
above  the  firmament  that  was  over  their 
heads,  was  the  likeness  of  a  throne,  as 
the  appearance  of  a  sapphire  stone;  and 
upon  the  likeness  of  the  throne  was  the 
likeness  as  the  appearance  of  a  man 
above  upon  it ;"  and  over  all  was,  "  as 
the  appearance  of  the  bow,  that  is  in  the 
cloud  in  the  day  of  rain,  so  was  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  lightness  round  about. 
This  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness 
of  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

Now,  we  can  be  at  no  loss  for  the 
meaning,  in  general,  of  all  this.  It  most 
assuredly  exhibits  Jehovah,  as  riding 
forth  in  the  car  of  his  triumph  ;  over 
his  head  the  bow  of  promise, — symbol 
of  peace  and  mercy  :  beneath  his  feet, 
the  dazzling  canopy  ;  sustained  by  the 
cherubim  of  glory. 

In  chap.  x.  15,  he  tells  us  that  these 
living  creatures  which  he  saw  by  the 
river  of  Chebar,  were  the  cherubim. 
"  This  is  the  living  creature  that  I  saw 
under  the  God  of  Israel  by  the  river  of 
Chebar,  and  I  knew  that  they  were  the 
cherubim,"  (verse  20.)  And  in  verse 
12,  we  are  told  that,  "their  whole  body, 
and  their  backs,  and  their  hands,  and 
their  wings,  and  the  wheels,  were 
full  of  eyes  round  about."     Here  again 


LECTURE  XL 


103 


they  agree  with  the  Zwa  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. 

One  remark  only  remains,  and  the 
substantial  identity  of  these  prophetic 
symbols,  and  their  representation  of  the 
ministry  of  mercy,  is  established.  This 
is  the  fact,  that  Ezekiel  was  favoured 
with  the  vision  of  them  at  the  time 
when  he  is  made  the  messenger  of  peace 
to  Israel,  bearing  good  tidings,  of  great 
joy.  In  chap.  ii.  2,  he  says,  "  the  spirit 
entered  into  me,  when  he  spoke  unto  me, 
and  set  me  upon  my  feet.  And  he  said 
unto  me,  Son  of  man,  I  send  thee  to  the 
children  of  Israel  ;  I  do  send  thee  unto 
them,  and  thou  shalt  say  unto  them, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God."  And  in 
chap.  iii.  he  describes  the  relations  and 
responsibilities  of  the  spiritual  watchmen. 
So  precisely  with  John  the  spirit  entered 
into  him,  and  gave  him  the  vision  and 
the  message  of  mercy  to  man. 

In  Ezek„  xxvii.  14,  16,  the  city  of 
Tyre  is  called  in  a  figure,  the  anointed 
cherub,  and  the  covering  cherub,  in 
allusion  to  her  wealth  and  splendour  : 
but  manifestly  the  language  is  a  meta- 
phor ;  and  forms  no  exception  to  our 
general  position,  that  the  cherubim  are 
symbolic  of  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

Before  we  proceed  to  the  cherubim  of 
Moses,  we  will  advert  for  a  moment  to 
Isaiah  vi.  where  he  describes  the  sera- 
phim. It  is,  we  suppose,  a  more  brief 
representation  of  the  matter.  "  In  the 
year  that  King  Uzziah  died,  I  saw  also 
the  Lord,  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high 
and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the 
temple.  Above  it  stood  the  seraphim  : 
each  one  had  six  wings  ;  with  twain  he 
covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he 
covered  his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did 
fly.  And  one  cried  unto  another,  and 
said,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of 
hosts  ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his 
glory." 

The  word  seraphim,  signifies  burning 
ones, — bright,  fiery-coloured,  flaming 
ones.  Their  office  and  wings  evince 
their  identity  with  the  living  creatures 
of  John  and  Ezekiel.  Jehovah  is  also 
seen  upon  his  throne,  the  seat  or  source 
of  power,  whence  proceeds  the  minis- 
terial commission.     Accordingly,  in  im- 


mediate connexion  with  this  vision, 
Isaiah  receives  that  heavenly  charge, 
which  he  fulfilled  in  such  a  holy  manner. 
"  Then  flew  one  of  the  seraphim  unto 
me,  having  a  live  coal  in  his  hand, 
which  he  had  taken  with  the  tongs  from 
off  the  altar,  and  he  laid  it  upon  my 
lips. — Also  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Lord,  saying,  Whom  shall  we  send,  and 
who  will  go  for  us?  Then  said  I,  Here 
am  I,  send  me.  And  he  said,  Go,  tell 
this  people."  Go  and  preach  the  gospel, 
and  warn  sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  Here  again,  the  cherubic 
symbols  are  exhibited  in  connexion  with 
the  delivery  of  the  ministerial  commis- 
sion. 

Second.  We  proceed  to  those  of  Moses. 
In  Exod.  xxv.  we  have  the  account  of 
the  cherubim,  which  formed  the  end  of 
the  mercy-seat,  ('iAas<n<]£iov — propitiation) 
which  covered  the  ark  of  the  testimony. 
The  body  of  this  ark  was  in  size  about 
four  feet  long,  two  and  a  half  feet  wide, 
and  the  same  in  height.  In  it  were  de- 
posited the  two  tables  of  stone,  on  which 
were  written  the  ten  commandments. 
The  lid  of  this  chest  was  of  solid  gold, 
and  so  turned  up  at  the  ends  as  to  f  jrrn 
on  each,  one  cherub,  with  its  face  or 
faces  turned  inward,  and  looking  down- 
ward ;  their  wings  were  raised,  and  ex- 
tended toward  each  other,  so  as  to  meet 
in  the  middle.  "  Here,"  said  God,  "  I 
will  meet  with  thee,  and  I  will  commune 
with  thee  from  above  the  mercy-seat, 
from  between  the  two  cherubim  which 
are  upon  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  of 
all  things  which  I  will  give  thee  in  com- 
mandment unto  the  children  of  Israel." 
(Verse  22.) 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  this  was 
constructed  according  to  the  pattern 
which  God  had  showed  to  Moses  in  the 
mount.  The  vision  which  he  beheld 
amid  the  lightning,  and  the  fearful 
swellings  of  Jehovah's  awful  trumpet, 
when  he  uttered,  in  articulate  thunder, 
the  ten  precepts  of  the  decalogue ;  this 
vision  was  the  prototype  of  the  cherubim : 
and  consequently,  they  were  exhibited  to 
him  on  the  summit  of  Sinai. 

It  is  manifest  at  a  glance,  that  the 
mercy-seat  is  the  covering  of  the  law 


104 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


or  ten  precepts,  and  must  be  the  emblem 
of  Christ,  as  the  fulfiller  of  the  precepts 
of  the  law.  This,  and  only  this,  is  ob- 
vious at  a  glance.  What  else  can  be 
meant  ?  The  ten  precepts — not  any 
penalty,  or  threatened  punishment,  but 
simply  and  only  the  ten  precepts — are 
deposited  in  the  body  of  the  ark  :  there 
they  lie,  encased  in  pure  gold,  and  they 
are  covered  over  with  a  solid  plate  of 
the  same  material.  This  plate  or  cover- 
is  called  the  iXatfrrigiov,  or  propitiation. 
This  mercy-seat  covers  the  precepts  of 
the  law,  and  is  a  type  of  Christ,  as  he 
is  the  fulfiller  of  the  precept  of  law  for 
#his  people :  and  this  is  evident  at  a 
glance,  as  was  said  before.  And  yet, 
how  many  thousands  have,  not  only 
glanced  at  it,  but  studied  it  with  all  pos- 
sible intensity,  (we  among  the  rest,) 
and  yet  never  discovered  it  ?  Is  it  not 
amazing,  that  men  should  have  found 
the  doctrine  of  satisfaction  for  violated 
law, — have  found  penalty  symbolized 
by  the  mercy-seat?  Yet  so  it  is,  and 
perhaps  always  has  been.  But  now, 
the  altar  of  burnt  offering:-;  is  the  only 
proper  symbol  of  this  satisfaction.  This 
is  manifest,  plain,  and  undeniable.  Yet 
it  is  not  more  so,  than  that  the  mercy- 
seat  is  the  type  of  Christ,  as  the  fulfiller 
of  the  law's  precepts, — as  the  justifying 
righteousness  of  his  people. 

But  the  cherubim  are  above  the  mercy- 
seat,  and  stand  there,  with  outstretched 
wing  and  attentive  eye ;  ready  to  waft 
the  message  of  mercy  to  a  ruined  world, 
and  well  versed,  by  diligent  study,  in 
the  glorious  mysteries  of  redemption. 

Does  any  reader  of  the  Bible  need  to 
be  taught  that  the  law's  ceremonial,  and 
all  the  symbols  established  at  Sinai,  were 
typical  of  something  about  the  person 
and  work  of  Messiah  1  Can  any  one 
be  ignorant  that  the  law, — meaning  not 
the  moral  law  particularly,  but  the  cere- 
monial institutions, — was  the  pedagogue 
to  the  church,  to  lead  her  to  Christ,  the 
great  teacher?  As  impossible  is  it  that 
any  should  be  ignorant  of  the  great  bur- 
den of  duty  devolving  upon  the  gospel 
ministry  ;  —  to  teach  man  how  he  can  be 
just  with  God.  Therefore,  the  intimate 
connexion    of   the    cherubim   with    the 


mercy-seat,  sets  forth  beautifully  and 
forcibly  the  near  relation  which  the  gos- 
pel ministry  bears  to  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  Their  unity  with  himself  he 
distinctly  affirms — "  ye  in  me  and  I  in 
you."  (John  xiv.  20.)  "  Except  ye 
abide  in  me,  ye  cannot  bear  fruit." 

[t  is  not  at  all  necessary,  that  we  refer 
to  the  numerous  places  where  the  cheru- 
bim of  the  mercy-seat  are  named,  or  al- 
luded to  in  the  other  scriptures;  for  none 
of  these  make  a  new  case.  They  are 
all  included  under  that  of  Moses  in  Sinai. 
We  therefore  have  remaining  only — 

Third.  The  cherubim  of  Adam,  (Gen. 
iii.  24.)  And  here  we  are  constrained 
to  abandon  a  long  cherished  traditionary 
exposition.  "  So  the  Lord  God  drove 
out  the  man :  and  he  placed  at  the  east 
of  the  garden  of  Eden,  cherubim  and  a 
flaming  sword,  which  turned  every  way, 
to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life." 

The  traditionary  interpretation  alluded 
to,  is  that  which  makes  the  cherubim 
flaming  angels,  placed  at  the  entrance  of 
the  garden,  to  keep  off  our  unhappy 
parents,  lest  they  should  endeavour  to 
return,  and  to  eat  the  fruit  of  the  for- 
bidden tree;  which  tree  was  a  seal  of 
covenant  of  works.  Their  agency  is 
to  prevent  mankind  from  vain  attempts 
to  seek  justification  by  their  own  works; 
which  Paul  says,  is  inconsistent  with 
grace  : — "  if  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more 
of  works,  otherwise  grace  is  no  more 
grace.  But  if  it  be  of  works,  then  it  is 
no  more  of  grace ;  otherwise  work  is  no 
more  work."   (Rom.  xi.  6.) 

To  this,  there  are  two  or  three  in- 
superable objections.  First.  The  word 
translated  keep,  never  signifies  to  keep 
of, — to  drive  away  :  but  generally,  if 
not  always,  to  keep  in  safety,  to  protect, 
to  defend.  In  Gen.  ii.  15,  it  means  to 
watch,  and  take  care  of:  Adam  was 
placed  in  the  garden,  "to  dress  it  and  to 
keep  it."  "  For  I  know  him,"  says  God 
concerning  Abraham,  "that  he  will  com- 
mand his  children  and  his  household  after 
him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord,"  (ch.  xviii.  19.)  "Because  that 
Abraham, — kept  my  charge,"  (xxvi.  5.) 
"I  will  again  feed  and  keep  thy  flock," 
(xxx.  31.)     And  "God  said  unto  Laban, 


LECTURE  XI. 


105 


"  take  heed  that  thou  speak  not  to  Jacob 
either  good  or  bad ;" — keep  thyself,  that 
thou  speak  not  harshly  to  him,  (xxxi. 
24.)  Let  them  "  lay  up  corn  in  the 
hand  of  Pharaoh,  and  let  them  keep  food 
in  the  cities,"  (xli.  35.)  These  are  all  the 
instances  of  the  word's  occurrence,  (ac- 
cording to  Trommius)  in  Genesis :  and 
they  clearly  show,  that  the  sense  is  not 
to  keep  off,  or  drive  away  ;  but,  to  pre- 
serve. So,  in  the  passage  in  question,  it 
must  mean,  to  keep  up  a  knowledge  of 
the  way  of  life, — to  instruct  men  how 
they  must  walk,  if  they  will  enjoy  life, 
— to  keep  constantly  in  the  way  which 
leads  to  it, — to  walk  in  Christ,  who  is 
the  vvay,  that  they  may  enjoy  him  as 
the  life. 

Second.  We  find  no  instance  in  the 
Bible,  where  cherub  or  cherubim  means 
an  angel,  that  is,  a  spiritual,  created  be- 
ing, not  connected  with  a  body. 

Third.  The  tree  of  life,  is  Christ,  in 
communion  with  whom  is  life.  The  tree 
in  the  garden,  was  a  symbol  of  that  life: 
and  the  tree  of  life  in  Ezekiel's  and  John's 
visions,  clearly  exhibits  him  as  the  bless- 
edness of  the  souls  of  men  :  his  fruit  is 
perpetual,  and  his  leaves  for  the  healing 
of  the  nations.  Therefore,  to  exclude 
men  from  him,  could  not  be  the  work  of 
holy-beings. 

Now,  we  can  easily  perceive,  how  the 
cherubim,  riding  upon  a  car  of  glory 
like  a  fire,  catching  upon,  or  revolving 
itself, — being  established  there,  and  our 
parents  instructed  in  the  meaning  of  the 
whole  symbol,  should  ever  keep  them  in 
remembrance  of  the  way  of  life.  At  this 
time,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  extends, 
was  mercy  first  revealed  to  the  moral 
universe  ;  and  at  this  time  was  establish- 
ed the  cherubim  of  glory,  as  the  repre- 
sentation of  that  agency,  by  which  the 
way  of  life  should  be  for  ever  pointed 
out  to  lost  man.  Moses  therefore,  hav- 
ing seen  the  same  on  Sinai,  and  embo- 
died their  likeness  on  the  mercy-seat, 
afterwards,  in  writing  a  history  of  the 
creation,  tells  the  Israelites,  that  God 
placed,  or  established  the  tkerubim,  (for 
the  article  is  found  in  the  Hebrew  text,) 
which  had  now  become,  to  the  Israelites, 
familiar  emblems  of  the  ministers  of  sal- 

14 


vation.  He  placed  these  glorious  figures 
in  the  East,  at  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  in- 
struct our  race  in  the  way  of  life.  They 
are  spoken  of  in  this  passage,  as  things 
known  before  :  he  placed  the  cherubim  ; 
— a  mode  of  expression,  which  cannot  be 
used  in  reference  to  a  new  and  unheard 
of  subject,  or  thing.  The  Hebrews  had 
seen,  or  heard  described,  the  cherubim 
above  the  mercy-seat:  and  this  prepares 
them  for  understanding  Moses,  when  he 
tells  them  that  these  compound  figures 
of  animals  were  not  established  now, 
for  the  first  time,  as  representative  of  the 
ministry  of  mercy  ;  but  were  appointed 
of  God  for  the  same  purpose,  when  first 
mercy  stooped  to  comfort  our  infant  and 
unhappy  race. 

This  may  suffice,  to  evince  the  iden- 
tity of  John's  living  creatures,  with  the 
living  creatures  of  Ezekiel,  the  seraphim 
of  Isaiah,  and  the  cherubim  of  Ezekiel 
and  of  Moses ;  and  to  show  the  reality 
and  significancy  of  them,  as  representa- 
tions of  the  gospel  ministry. 

We  return  now  to  John's  vision. 
Chap.  v.  Having  given  a  graphic  de- 
scription of  the  scene  opened  in  the 
church,  he  proceeds  to  the  action.  In 
the  right  hand  of  God,  upon  the  throne, 
he  saw  a  book,  written  within  and  on  the 
back,  and  sealed  with  seven  seals.  Books, 
you  are  aware,  were,  in  that  age,  written 
upon  parchment,  and  other  materials, 
which  were  connected  together  in  long 
pieces,  like  narrow  webs  of  cloth,  and 
rolled  up  in  the  same  way  ;  hence  the 
name,  volume,  a  Latin  word,  which 
means  simply  a  roll.  Such  as  were  thus 
rolled,  were  usually  written  on  one  side; 
but  that  now  exhibited^  was  written  with- 
in, and  on  the  back,  or  on  both  sides. 
Of  consequence,  being  written  all  over, 
when  rolled  up,  a  part  of  the  writing 
would  still  be  visible,  though  the  book 
were  sealed.  What  is  called  the  back, 
would  be  on  the  outside,  when  the  scroll 
is  rolled  up.  This  scroll  was  sealed, 
and  consequently,  none  of  it  could  be 
read,  except  the  small  portion  of  the 
back,  which  then  was  outside.  This  por- 
tion, we  may  well  suppose,  contained  the 
history  of  the  things  that  are.  The  m;  • 
contents  of  the  book  are  invisible  ur 


106 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  seals  are  removed.  These  seals, 
were  not  arranged  along  the  end  of  the 
roll,  so  as  to  constitute  a  row,  shutting 
up  the  end,  and  the  whole  book  at  once; 
for  if  this  had  been  the  case,  no  part, 
except  the  outside  of  the  roll,  could  have 
been  read,  until  the  whole  seven  seals 
were  broken.  But,  it  is  manifest,  that 
when  each  seal  was  opened,  a  part  of  the 
volume  was  unrolled,  and  of  course,  a 
part  of  the  contents  became  legible  :  the 
seals  therefore,  were  placed  lengthwise 
upon  the  roll,  along  the  centre  line.  A 
part  of  it  was  rolled  up  first ;  then  a  seal 
was  inserted,  which  made  that  part  se- 
cure. Then  another  portion  was  rolled 
up,  and  another  seal  was  placed  in,  and 
so  throughout  the  whole  seven.  In  re- 
versing this  operation,  it  is  obvious,  that 
when  the  first  seal  is  broken,  all  that 
writing  which  lies  between  it  and  the 
second,  is  presented  to  view ;  and  so  of 
all  the  rest.  The  seven  seals  therefore, 
divide  the  whole  book  into  seven  parts, 
besides  the  already  legible  outside.  The 
last  part,  we  shall  find  to  be  much  the 
largest,  and  to  be  variously  subdivided. 
Of  these  subdivisions,  however,  we  say 
nothing  at  present. 

Books  are  alphabetical,  or  pictorial 
representations  of  things,  present,  past, 
future,  or  mixed  :  and  they  are  used  as 
aids  to  memory  and  judgment.  What- 
ever affords  us  instruction,  is  a  book. 
We  talk  of  the  book  of  nature, — the 
book  of  providence, — the  book  of  reve- 
lation,— the  book  of  experience.  That 
before  us  in  the  vision,  is  the  book  of 
providence  :  a  pictorial  and  alphabetical 
representation  of  things  then  future,  as 
to  man,  but  present  all,  to  the  divine 
mind,  who  gave  to  John  a  partial  view 
of"  things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 

Jehovah  holds  in  his  hand  a  volume 
of  providence  ;  who  will  unroll  it  ?  Who 
will  take  upon  him  the  management  of 
all  the  millions  of  minute,  and  of  mo- 
mentous movements,  which  it  involves  1 
This  is  the  challenge  of  the  angel,  (verse 
2.)  After  waiting  in  suspense  for  some 
time,  and  being  deeply  affected  with  the 
fact,  that  no  one  appeared  willing  and 
able  to  undertake  the  mighty  task,  John 
c'  relieved,  (verse   5,)  by  one   of  the 


elders  assuring  him,  that  "  the  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah,"  the  root  of  David, 
was  both  able  and  willing  "  to  open 
the  book  and  to  loose  the  seven  seals 
thereof." 

The  apostle  then  beheld  a  Lamb,  with 
the  appearance  of  having  been  slain, 
who  had  taken  his  position  between  the 
throne,  whose  occupant  held  the  roll  of 
the  book  in  his  hand,  and  the  four  living 
ones,  and  between  the  bases  of  the  semi- 
circle of  the  thrones  of  the  elders.  This 
Lamb,  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  his 
own  self-sacrifice,  had  "  seven  horns 
and  seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven 
spirits  of  God."  The  seven  horns  are 
the  perfect  sign  of  his  ruling  power  ;  and 
the  seven  spirits,  sent  forth  in  all  the 
earth,  are  emblematic  of  those  influences 
of  the  divine  spirit,  by  which  He  con- 
trols the  hearts  of  men  every  where. 
This  Leonine  Lamb  is  the  Son  of  God, 
— Jesus,  the  Mediator.  He  is  a  Lion 
towards  the  enemies  of  his  church,  for 
their  destruction,  and  her  defence  :  He  is 
a  Lamb  slain,  towards  the  church  herself. 

The  Lamb's  advancing,  and  taking 
the  book,  represents  the  Messiah,  as- 
suming the  functions  of  that  part  of  his 
mediatorial  office,  which  consists  in  de- 
veloping the  principles  of  his  moral  go- 
vernment over  the  nations,  in  the  pu- 
nishment and  rewarding  of  men,  amid 
the  various  revolutions  of  time.  God, 
the  Father,  has  delivered  into  his  hand 
the  administration  of  the  entire  kingdom 
of  providence. 

No  sooner  do  they  behold  this  official 
investiture,  than  the  four  living  ones, 
and  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  pros- 
trate themselves  before  their  King,  with 
harps  in  their  hands,  and  censers,  or 
vials  of  odorous  unguents  :  the  signifi- 
cant meaning  of  which  is  explained, — 
the  prayers  of  the  saints. 

This  part  of  the  action  exhibits  the 
teachers  and  rulers  in  the  church,  who 
for  her  sake  are  the  servants  of  God, 
as  conducting  the  solemn  worship  of  his 
house,  and  presenting  the  supplications 
of  Zion  before  her  King.  Their  worship 
consists  of  praise.  They  ascribe  to  him 
worth  and  dignity  to  rule  over  men,  for 
the  good  of  his  church.     They  state  the 


LECTURE  XL 


107 


reason  ; — his  sacrifice  for  his  people, 
and  their  consequent  redemption,  and 
restoration  to  divine  favour,  and  ruling 
influence  in  the  church  and  over  the 
world. 

This  psean  of  gratitude  and  praise 
could  only  burst  from  redeemed  men, 
and  sanctified  lips.  None  who  were 
not  redeemed  and  purified  from  sin, 
could  unite  in  it.  Angels  of  glory  could 
not,  for  they  have  no  sin  from  which 
to  be  redeemed.  Infants  could  not,  if 
they  had  never  been  sinners  :  but  inas- 
much as  they  have  been,  they  too  unite 
with  the  vast  multitude,  outside  the 
circle  of  the  elders,  in  this  song  of  the 
redeemed.  But  then,  there  is  another 
song.  There  is  an  immense  concourse 
of  angels,  who  are  "  all  ministering 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,"  who 
occupy  an  outer  space,  round  about,  and 
beyond  the  elders  and  the  whole  re- 
deemed throng.  These  angels  are  in- 
terested  in  the  glory  of  the  Lamb ;  but 
not  for  their  redemption.  To  afford  to 
them  also  an  opportunity  of  striking  a 
note  of  praise,  there  must  be  a  song 
sung,  which  implies  not  the  redemption 
of  the  singers.  Such  we  find  in  the 
eleventh  verse.  This  is  the  angels' 
song.  Then  follows  a  grand  chorus, 
in  which  all,  both  redeemed  and  unre- 
deemed, unite.  "  Blessing,  and  honour, 
and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb  for  ever  and  ever." 

With  a  few  observations,  we  pause 
for  the  present. 

1.  There  has  always  been  a  gospel 
ministry  among  men, — a  human  instru- 
mentality, by  which  God  communicates 
and  perpetuates  the  knowledge  of  his 
system  of  grace,  his  plan  for  the  display 
of  his  mercy.  That  there  was  a  regular 
order  of  succession,  an  agency  to  appoint 
others,  and  perpetuate  the  agency,  prior 
to  the  call  of  Abraham,  in  the  year  of 
the  world  2077,  does  not  appear,  in  the 
extremely  brief  history  of  those  twenty- 
one  centuries.  The  probabilities  are 
against  it.  Enoch  and  Noah,  only,  are 
mentioned  as  eminent  preachers  of  right- 
eousness.    Doubtless,  there  were  thou- 


sands of  others  called  as  occasion  re- 
quired, and  commissioned  of  God,  to 
tell  the  blessed  story  of  salvation,  by 
the  sufferings  of  the  promised  seed. 

2.  There  was  nothing  in  nature  to  set 
forth  and  teach  this  doctrine.  There 
could  not  possibly  be ;  for  its  essential 
character,  the  scheme  for  the  display  of 
the  attributes  of  God's  mercy,  must  be 
hidden  from  man,  until  after  he,  by  sin, 
had  made  it  necessary  for  his  welfare, 
and  applicable  to  him.  In  the  constitu- 
tion of  his  mind,  and  of  the  material 
universe  around  him,  there  must  neces- 
sarily be  an  absolute  silence  on  this 
point.  Of  course,  man's  knowledge  of 
mercy  could  only  be  purely  matter  of 
revelation,  and  so  must  be  the  agency 
and  symbols  of  it.  Man's  nature  is  to 
seek  happiness,  as  the  reward  of  his 
own  works.  All  have  this  disposition, 
and  do  for  ever  cherish  it,  until  they  are 
converted  by  supernatural  grace,  through 
the  teachings  of  the  revealed  doctrine 
of  salvation,  by  the  imputed  merits  of 
Christ,  and  the  almighty  influences  of 
his  spirit  in  their  hearts. 

3.  This  gives  the  teachers  of  pure 
deism,  that  is,  of  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  works,  a  decided  advantage  over 
the  teachers  of  salvation  by  free  grace. 
The  former  have  all  men  with  them  by 
nature,  the  latter  have  all  men  by  nature 
against  them. 

4.  It  belongs  to  the  rulers  and  teach- 
ers in  the  church  to  lead  its  public  wor- 
ship, and  to  encourage  the  timid,  doubt- 
ing, and  distressed  to  confide  in  the 
power  of  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
The  Presbyter  relieved^  John's  fears  in 
this  way. 

5.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  God  of 
Providence,  and  the  Governor  among 
the  nations,  as  well  as  in  the  church. 
This  we  shall  see  more  fully  here- 
after. 

The  actual  exercise  of  his  supreme 
dominion  is  founded  in  this,  that  he  him- 
self has  fulfilled  all  righteousness.  Be- 
cause, "  he  humbled  himself  and  became 
obedient  until  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross  ;  therefore  hath  God  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  above 
every  name." 


108 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


LECTURE  XII. 

THE  FIRST  AND  SECOND  SEALS. 

"  And  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of 
the  seals,  and  I  heard,  as  it  were  the  noise  of 
thunder,  one  of  the  four  living  creatures  saying, 
'Come  and  see.'  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a 
white  horse;  and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a 
bow  ;  and  a  crown  was  given  unto  him,  and  he 
went  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.  And 
when  he  had  opened  the  second  seal  I  heard 
the  second  living  creature  say,  'Come  and  see.' 
And  there  went  out  another  horse  that  was  red  ; 
and  power  was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon 
to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  that  they 
should  kill  one  another ;  and  there  was  given 
unto  him  a  great  sword." — Rev.  vi.  1-4. 

The  prophet  of  God  stands,  "  by  the 
side  of  the  great  river  which  is  Hidde- 
kel."  He  turns  his  eye  far  westward, 
towards  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  whence 
the  hand  of  oppression  has  rudely  drag- 
ged him,  and  whither  the  tender  recol- 
lections of  youth  are  ever  wont  to  lead 
the  hoary  head  and  the  pious  heart. 
When  lo !  from  the  dim  distance,  his 
eager  and  inquiring  eye  catches  a  few 
rays  of  the  star  of  Bethlehem ;  the 
starting  tear  transforms  them  into  a  bow 
of  promise,  and  he  almost  feels  himself 
standing  beneath  the  bright  canopy  that 
surrounds  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb.  His  heart,  with  enraptured  emo- 
tion, bounds  forward,  in  its  effort  to  an- 
nihilate time  and  space  ;  and  his  tongue 
truly  exclaims,  "O  my  Lord,  what  shall 
be  the  end  of  these  things  ?" 

But  every  revelation  has  its  time  and 
season,  as  well  as  its  manner  and  form ; 
and  the  time  for  the  church  to  under- 
stand these  things  is  not  yet.  "  Go  thy 
way,  Daniel,  for  the  words  are  closed 
up  and  sealed  to  the  time  of  the  end." 

This  sealed  book,  into  whose  contents 
the  holy  seer  was  so  eager  to  examine, 
is  now,  at  the  juncture  of  time  to  which 
we  have  arrived,  in  the  possession  of 
"  Michael  the  Great  Prince,  which  stand- 
eth  up  for  the  children  of  thy  people." 
The  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah"  holds 
in  his  hand  that  mysterious  scroll  on 
which  are  recorded  the  destinies  of  all 
earth's  kingdoms,  so  far  as  they  materi- 
ally affect  that  heavenly  kingdom  in 
which  the  God  of  glory  has  fixed  his 


throne.  That  hand  alone,  of  all  in  the 
universe  of  being,  is  worthy  to  loose  the 
seals,  and  to  open  the  book.  And  that 
hand  alone — delightful,  soul-transporting 
thought, — was  nailed  to  the  cross  for  thy 
redemption,  O,  believer  in  Jesus !  That 
eye  of  flaming  fire  alone,  of  all  yonder 
countless  throng,  which,  sparkling  in 
splendour,  reflects  the  radiance  of  the 
divine  throne,  is  able  to  read  the  book  ! 
And  that  eye,  O,  unbeliever,  looks 
down,  and  weeps  over  the  impenitence 
of  thy  rebellious  heart  !  Awake,  arise ! 
behold  how  terrible  in  its  grandeur,  and 
awful  in  its  brightness,  is  that  throne, 
and  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  thereon  ! 
But  there  stands  also  a  Mediator  between 
you  and  the  throne — a  Lion  ;  but  not  a 
Lion  only,  this  might  fill  thee  with 
trembling  dread.  He  is  also  a  Lamb, 
a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain,  our  pass- 
over,  sacrificed  for  us.  Thus,  to  keep 
before  our  minds  perpetually,  the  glo- 
rious and  fundamental  doctrine  of  re- 
demption through  the  vicarious  sufferings 
and  death  of  Jesus,  in  the  law,  place, 
and  room  of  his  own  people,  whom  he 
foreknew,  John  fixes  our  eye  upon  the 
bleeding  Saviour.  Let  us  never  forget 
that  the  babe  of  Bethlehem  is  the  Ruler 
of  the  universe.  His  voice,  who  groan- 
ed in  Gethsemane,  shall  yet  awake  the 
sleeping  millions  of  the  dead  ;  his  head, 
which  wore  the  crown  of  thorns,  now 
wears  the  crown  of  glory.  The  power 
of  his  mighty  arm  is  pledged  for  the 
eternal  welfare  of  all  those  that  believe. 
With  the  full  consolation  of  this  truth 
swelling  in  our  bosoms,  let  us  draw  nigh 
to  him.  Though  he  be  the  Lion,  there 
is  no  terror  in  his  eye,  except  to  his  ene- 
mies. There  is  no  wrath  in  that  coun- 
tenance, except  to  those  who  trample 
under  foot  and  despise  his  precious  blood. 
.  Before  we  proceed  to  the  detail,  it  is 
proper  that  we  should  note  the  general 
contents  of  the  book.  It  has  been  al- 
ready intimated  that  the  seven  seals 
divide  it  into  seven  parts.  These  seals 
can  only  be  opened  successively.  None 
but  one  is  accessible  at  a  time.  This 
construction  of  the  book  is  undoubtedly 
intended  to  intimate  a  chronological  order 
in  the  matter  covered  by  the  seals,  as  to 


LECTURE  XII. 


109 


its  beginning.  We  therefore  feci  dis- 
posed to  cast  aside,  as  unworthy  of  be- 
ing read,  any  exposition  of  this  pro- 
phecy which  sets  out  by  confounding 
the  chronology.  The  expositor  who  does 
not  feel  himself  at  once  shut  up  to  the 
necessity  of  considering  the  seals  in  a 
regular  order,  appears  to  lack  entirely 
an  indispensable  requisite  to  success. 

But  you  will  notice  the  remark,  that 
the  chronological  order  regards  the 
opening  of  the  seals  :  that  is,  the  intro- 
duction of  some  important  transaction, 
or  series  of  transactions  :  but  not  that 
all  these  transactions  must  be  closed 
up  and  finished  before  the  next  seal  is 
broken.  The  already  opened  seal  can 
still  be  read  after  its  successor  also  is 
exposed  to  view.  Thus,  the  providential 
occurrences,  commencing  in  the  first 
seal,  continue  through  others.  The  mat- 
ter of  one,  because  of  its  peculiar  nature, 
overlaps  that  of  another.  The  white 
horse  does  not  disappear  the  moment 
that  the  red  horse  presents  himself.  On 
the  contrary,  he  remains  in  the  field  ; 
victorious,  less  or  more,  at  various  times, 
until  his  triumph  is  complete. 

This  scroll,  as  already  mentioned, 
runs  down  to  the  end  of  time,  and  the 
judgment  day.  It  is  divided  into  seven 
parts  by  the  seven  seals.  But  the  seventh 
seal,  or  seventh  part,  is  divided  into 
seven  parts  ; — the  seven  trumpets  :  and 
again  the  seventh  trumpet  or  part  is 
subdivided  into  seven  ; — the  seven  vials  : 
these  continue  until  the  introduction  of 
the  period  of  the  millennium.  So  that  we 
have,  up  to,  and  inclusive  of  it,  four 
grand  periods  of  time,  which  are  most 
naturally  marked  thus : 

I.  The  period  of  the  Seals. 
II.  The  period  of  the  Trumpets. 

III.  The  period  of  the  Vials. 

IV.  The  period  of  the  Millennium. 

There  are  some  other  matters  com- 
prehended in  the  book  that  might  per- 
haps be  separated  into  distinct  periods. 
Dr.  McLeod,  upon  the  whole,  the  best 
expounder  of  the  Apocalypse  whom  we 
have  met  with,  adds,  the  period  of  sub- 
sequent deterioration, — of  Gog  and  Ma- 
gog ;  the  period  of  the  final  judgment; 
the  period  of  celestial   glory.     But  as 


it  is  not  proposed  to  dwell  long,  or  to 
attempt  much  detail  in  regard  to  these, 
it  would  be  scarcely  consistent  to  pre- 
sent them  as  heads  in  a  general  division. 


PERIOD  I. THE  SEALS. 

The  first  question  here  regards  the 
time  of  this  period's  beginning.  Bishop 
Newton  finds  in  the  first  seal,  the  victo- 
rious triumphs  of  Vespasian  ;  which  vic- 
tories and  triumphs  resulted  in  his  undis- 
puted possession  of  the  imperial  throne, 
A.  D.  69.  Consequently,  the  bishop  will 
have  the  first  seal  to  open  about  this 
time.  So  respectable  an  expositor  is 
worthy  of  a  refutation  when  he  errs  ; 
for  the  error  of  such  a  man  may  result 
in  injury  to  the  cause.  A  brief  state- 
ment of  the  historical  facts  is  therefore 
indispensable. 

Vespasian  commanded  the  Roman 
legions  in  the  East,  in  A.  D.  68,  when 
Nero,  who  had  been  proclaimed  by  the 
Senate  a  public  enemy,  perished  by  his 
own  or  his  wife's  hands.  A  short  time 
before  his  death,  Galba  revolted  from 
him  in  Spain,  and  was  proclaimed  em- 
peror. Otho,  who  was  with  Galba,  and 
expected,  because  of  existing  friendship, 
to  share  the  purple  with  him,  irritated 
at  him  for  adopting  Piso,  killed  them 
both,  before  Galba  had  occupied  the 
throne  ten  months.  The  competition 
for  supremacy  now  lay  immediately 
between  Vitellius,  who  commanded  in 
Germany,  and  Otho.  The  latter  was 
worsted  in  battle,  and  felt  himself 
obliged  to  do  for  himself  the  same  kind 
office  which  he  had  performed  for  his 
friend  Galba.  Vitellius  took  possession 
of  Rome,  and  was  acknowledged  empe- 
ror. But  the  fourth  competitor  was  still 
in  the  field.  Vespasian  was  just  about 
to  press  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  when 
the  death  of  Nero  was  announced.  He 
immediately  fell  back  upon  Alexandria, 
where  his  army  proclaimed  him  emperor. 
He  sent  his  generals  against  Vitellius, 
who  was  routed,  his  legions  cut  to  pieces, 
and  himself  slain.  Upon  the  annuncia- 
tion of  this  news,  Vespasian  sent  his  son 
Titus  against  Jerusalem  :  and  he  him- 


110 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


self  proceeded  from  Alexandria,  and  en- 
tered Rome  with  all  the  possible  pomp 
and  martial  parade  of  glorious  triumph. 
To  these  victories  and  rejoicings,  Bishop 
Newton  applies  the  first  seal  :  but  to  this 
interpretation  we  demur. 

1.  Because,  as  will  be  fully  shown  in 
the  sequel  of  this  lecture,  the  horse  is  a 
symbol  of  God's  providential  agency. 
Consequently,  the  rider  who  guides  the 
horse  is  the  ruler  of  the  kingdom  of 
providence  :  but  that  ruler  is  the  "  Lion 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah," — he  only  can 
open  the  seals  and  read  the  book. 

2.  This  figure  of  triumph  represents 
victory,  connected  with  stainless  purity. 
But  the  victories  of  Vespasian  were  with 
"  confused  noise,  and  garments  rolled  in 
blood."  His  triumph  was  that  of  cruelty, 
injustice,  oppression,  and  crime. 

3.  This  conqueror  goes  forth  wear- 
ing his  crown  ;  but  Vespasian  returned 
after  his  victories,  to  take  possession  of 
his  :  and  few  conquests  were  afterwards 
achieved  by  him.  Whereas,  the  phrase 
in  the  first  seal  implies  continued  pro- 
gression ;  "  he  went  forth,  conquering 
and  to  conquer," — he  tcent  out,  con- 
quering, and  that  he  might  conquer. 
This  is  not  true  of  Vespasian.  He 
ceased  to  conquer ;  and  in  the  third 
year  of  his  reign  the  temple  of  Janus 
was  shut,  for  the  sixth  time,  as  a  sign 

jof  universal  peace.  He  went  out,  a 
general,  and  nothing  more  ;  he  returned 
an  emperor  elect,  and  he  then  ceased  to 
conquer.  But  the  rider  of  the  white 
horse  went  out,  crowned,  and  no  account 
is  given,  in  this  vision,  of  his  return. 

4.  The  crown  was  given  to  this  bright 
conqueror,  before  he  rode  forth ;  but 
Vespasian's  crown  was  forced  from  con- 
tending claimants  ;  and,  though  given 
to  him,  amid  the  acclamations  of  a  de- 
graded and  menial  people,  by  a  servile 
senate,  yet  was  it  in  fact  wrested  from 
them  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  pur- 
chased with  the  carnage  of  a  hundred 
thousand  men,  slaughtered  at  the  shrine 
of  bloodthirsty  ambition. 

5.  But  again,  it  is  necessary,  on  the 
bishop's  interpretation,  to  maintain  that 
the  Apocalypse  was  written  before  the 
wars  and  victories  of  Vespasian.     He 


affirms,  accordingly,  that  John's  banish- 
ment took  place  during  the  Neronian 
persecution,  in  67  or  68.  This  position 
cannot  be  supported.  Eusebius,  (book 
iii.  chap,  xxiii.)  expressly  asserts  John's 
return  "  from  exile  on  the  island,  and 
the  death  of  Domitian."  He  then  ad- 
duces the  testimony  of  Irenaaus  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  to  prove  John's 
continuance  until  the  reign  of  Trajan  : 
and  it  is  the  common  opinion  now,  that 
the  vision  occurred  A.  D.  95  or  97. 
Consequently,  it  could  not  be  prophecy 
at  all  ;  it  could  not  be  of  "  the  things 
which  shall  be  hereafter,"  if  it  referred 
to  Vespasian. 

Nor  can  this  seal  relate  directly  and 
only  to  Constant)' ne  the  Great ;  and  the 
triumphant  establishment  of  Christianity 
as  the  religion  of  the  empire,  as  some 
dream  :  for  the  things  prophesied  of,  as 
what  must  be,  (ch.  i.  1,)  are  to  be 
shortly.  This  could  not  be  spoken  of 
events  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  in 
advance. 

The  first  seal  is  the  first  prophetic 
part  of  the  book,  and  must  be  broken 
shortly.  The  other  extremity  of  the 
period  of  the  seals,  when  the  sixth  is 
to  be  opened,  we  shall  see  reason  to 
believe,  is  in  A.  D.  323,  when  the  em- 
pire became  Christian,  on  the  accession 
of  Constantine.  The  whole  period  will, 
therefore,  extend  from  the  time  of  the 
vision,  about  96  or  97,  to  323, — a  space 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  or  seven 
years. 

"  The  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seals, 
and  I  heard,  as  it  were,  the  noise  of 
thunder,  one  of  the  four  living  creatures 
saying,  Come  and  see." 

The  breaking  of  the  seal  is  the  deve- 
lopement  of  the  events  in  divine  provi- 
dence, which  are  under  the  conduct  of 
Messiah. 

Thunder  is  the  voice  of  God,  and  is 
emblematic  of  any  instrumentality  he 
may  use  to  arrest  the  attention  of  men, 
and  to  excite  solemn  awe  and  dread  in 
the  mind.  "  He  uttered  his  voice,  the 
earth  melted,"  (Ps.  xlvi.  6.)  The  spe- 
cial agency  employed  here,  is  that  of 
the  lion-faced,  living  one ;  that  is,  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel  in  the  attitude, 


LECTURE  XII. 


Ill 


and  with  the  air  of  bold  and  dauntless 
courage.  This  of  itself  at  once  indicates 
events  in  prospect,  which  will  put  to  the 
test  the  heroic  spirit  of  the  church.  The 
things  that  must  be  shortly,  under  the 
Redeemer's  administration,  will  call  for 
lion-heartedness  and  strength.  Infinite 
wisdom  always  adapts  his  agency  to  his 
work.  The  church  is  now  to  go  forth 
in  the  power  of  her  King,  to  vanquish 
the  world  ;  all  her  energies  will  be  called 
into  requisition,  and  the  lion's  roar,  the 
determined  and  fearless  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  is  her  call  to  action.  "  The  lion 
hath  roared,  who  will  not  fear  ?"  Ac- 
cordingly, in  every  age,  when  her 
movements  must  be  aggressive,  as  be- 
fore observed,  we  find  such  men  as 
Paul  and  Huss,  Zuingle  and  Luther, 
Calvin  and  Knox.  By  the  thundering 
voice  of  the  lion,  is  to  be  understood  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  during  the  pe- 
riod referred  to. 

Thus  summoned  to  the  sight,  John 
"  saw,  and  behold,  a  white  horse  ;  and 
he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  bow;  and  a 
crown  was  given  unto  him  :  and  he 
went  forth  conquering,  and  to  conquer." 

The  horse,  as  previously  remarked, 
is  used  as  a  symbol  of  God's  providen- 
tial agency, — of  whatever  agency  he 
employs  to  accomplish  his  purposes  of 
mercy  or  of  wrath.  Thus  Zechariah 
(vi.  1-8,)  had  a  vision  of  four  chariots 
coming  out  from  between  two  moun- 
tains, "  and  the  mountains  were  moun- 
tains of  brass."  "  And  the  angel  an- 
swered and  said  unto  me,  These  are 
the  four  spirits  of  the  heavens,  which  go 
forth  from  standing  before  the  Lord  of 
all  the  earth."  "  He  maketh  his  angels 
spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of 
fire."  "  God's  chariots  are  twenty  thou- 
sand, even  thousands  of  angels." 

The  horse  was  much  more  honoured 
in  ancient  than  it  is  in  modern  times. 
He  was  almost  devoted  to  war,  and  was 
rarely  used  but  in  this  service,  and  that 
of  the  kings  and  nobles.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  ancient  Persians  deified 
the  sun,  and  consecrated  horses  to  this 
god.  They,  being  the  swiftest  of  do- 
mestic animals,  were  best  suited  to  sym- 
bolize the  sun's  rapid  motion.     Into  this 


idolatry  Israel  had  fallen,  prior  to  the 
reign  of  Josiah ;  (2  Kings,  xxiii.  2,) 
who  "  took  away  the  horses  which  the 
kings  of  Judah  had  given  to  the  sun, 
at  the  entering  in  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord." 

The  colour  here,  is  also  unquestion- 
ably figurative.  It  betokens  victory, 
and  is  the  natural  emblem  of  purity 
and  truth.  When  therefore  the  Roman 
Senate  voted  a  triumph  to  any  victorious 
leader,  it  signified  that  he  was  privi- 
leged to  make  a  formal  entry  into  the  ( 
city,  in  a  splendid  car  drawn  by  white 
horses,  with  the  vanquished  kings  and 
generals  chained  and  led  at  his  chariot 
wheels,  together  with  a  display  of  the 
spoils  of  the  conquered  nation.  Thus 
the  vision  presents  war,  victory,  and 
triumph. 

This  is  more  apparent  when  we  re- 
gard his  bow,  the  ordinary  weapon  of 
offensive  war.  We  say  offensive  war  ; 
for,  like  the  son  of  Jesse,  he  wears  no 
defensive  armour.  He  is  in  himself  in- 
vincible. "  No  shaft  of  the  adversary 
can  pierce  him." 

"  A  crown  was  given  to  him."  He 
is  then  a  warring  king  :  he  fights  under 
a  crown  which  he  did  not  acquire  by 
usurpation,  and  the  murderous  havoc  of 
slaughtered  millions.  He  wears  it,  and 
goes  forth  to  vindicate  its  rights.  His 
aim  therefore  is,  to  bring  his  revolted 
subjects  to  bow  before  him  in  a  cheerful 
obedience ;  or  if  they  refuse,  to  assert 
his  own  title  to  their  homage,  by  what- 
ever means  may  be  necessary. 

"  Conquering  and  to  conquer,"  is  an 
Hebraism  for  greatly  conquering  ;  and 
obviously  bespeaks  the  purpose  for  which 
this  king  goes  forth  to  the  acquisition  of 
new  and  splendid  victories. 

You  will  observe  that  there  is  no 
minute  description  now  given  of  his  per- 
son. Nor  is  it  usual  and  natural  to 
mark  every  particular  in  reference  to 
the  leader,  as  he  starts  upon  his  expedi- 
tion, with  the  same  carefulness  and 
lively  precision,  as  when  he  returns 
triumphant.  Then  all  eyes  are  upon 
him ; — all  tongues  resound  his  name, 
and  proclaim  his  mighty  deeds. 

This   picture   of  the    conqueror,  ex- 


112 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


hibits  Jesus,  the  King  of  Zion,  and  Lord 
of  the  whole  earth.  He  has  been  bap- 
tized in  his  own  blood, — has  gone  down 
beneath  the  stroke  of  devouring  death, — 
has  grappled  with  that  grim  monster, 
who  is  the  king  of  terrors,  and  the  terror 
of  kings, — has  gained  the  victory,  and 
borne  off  the  spoils  of  his  empire,  the 
grave.  He  has  received  his  kingdom, 
but  it  is  in  a  state  of  revolt.  He  has 
pledged  the  jewels  of  his  crown  to  bring 
it  back  to  its  lost  allegiance.  His  work 
•is  before  him,  and  he  will  accomplish  it. 
His  reward  is  with  him,  and  he  will  bear 
it  home  to  his  Father's  house,  amid  the 
shouts  of  redeemed  millions. 

No  other  evidence  of  the  correctness 
of  this  interpretation  can  be  necessary, 
than  a  reference  to  chapter  xix.  11-16. 
"  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold 
a  white  horse,  and  he  that  sat  upon  him 
was  called  Faithful,  and  True,  and  in 
righteousness  doth  he  judge  and  make 
war.  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire, 
and  on  his  head  were  many  crowns ; 
and  he  had  a  name  written  that  no  man 
knew  but  he  himself.  And  he  was 
clothed  in  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood : 
and  his  name  is  called,  the  Word  of 
God.  And  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven  followed  him  upon  white  horses, 
clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 
And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
sword,  that  with  it  he  shall  smite  the 
nations :  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron ;  and  he  treadeth  the  wine 
press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of 
Almighty  God.  And  he  hath  on  his 
vesture,  and  on  his  thigh,  a  name 
written,  King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of 
Lords." 

Is  not  this  the  same  personage  pre- 
viously referred  to  1  Who  can  hesitate 
for  a  moment  to  believe  it  ?  True  there 
are  several  additional  circumstances, 
and  why  should  there  not  be?  This 
warrior  has  been,  for  eighteen  centuries, 
coursing  the  field  of  glorious  conquest, 
and  now  he  returns  with  the  trophies  of 
a  vanquished  world, — not  chained  in 
ignominy  at  his  chariot  wheel,  but  all 
upon  white  horses,  with  palms  of  victory 
in  their  hands,  to  lay  at  the  footstool  of 
his  Father's  throne! 


This  scene  in  the  nineteenth  chapter, 
as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  if  God  permit, 
immediately  precedes  the  introduction  of 
millennial  glory.  Between  the  period  of 
our  text  and  this,  there  must  intervene 
many  a  bloodless  conquest  of  truth. 
Many  a  crown  must  supplant  the  thorny 
wreath  of  Calvary  :  many  a  giant  heresy 
must  be  cleaved  by  that  two-edged  sword, 
— the  Word  of  God :  many  a  legion  of 
obstinate  and  self-willed  rebels  must  be 
trodden  down  in  his  anger,  and  trampled 
in  his  fury.  Yet  who  can  doubt  that 
this  is  the  man  of  Calvary, — the  babe  at 
Bethlehem  born  ! 

There  is  nothing  in  the  picture,  as 
already  remarked,  to  intimate  the  return 
of  the  warrior,  with  his  crown  and  bow. 
It  is  said  only,  that  he  toent  forth.  It 
has  been  also  remarked,  that  the  seals 
respectively  designate  the  introduction 
of  an  event  or  series  of  events ;  but  not 
necessarily  their  termination  :  this  may, 
and  in  the  present  case  does,  extend  be- 
yond all  the  seven  seals,  the  seven  trum- 
pets, and  the  seven  vials.  This  victor 
king  keeps  the  field,  even  now  ;  and  he 
ever  will  keep  it,  whilst  an  enemy  of 
God  is  found  in  this  revolted  province  of 
his  universe.  His  bow  is  bent  :  his 
arrows  are  set :  his  two-edged  sword  is 
drawn  :  the  legions  of  error  and  death 
melt  away  before  him.  Lo  !  his  banner 
is  on  the  mountain  tops.  "  He  rideth 
upon  a  cherub,  and  doth  fly  :  yea,  he 
doth  fly  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind !" 

Let  us  remark  again  that  this  war  of 
the  crown-clad  king,  is  aggressive  in  its 
movement,  though  defensive  in  its  prin- 
ciple. Whilst  the  Mediator  is  apparently 
the  assailant,  his  assaults  are  all  based 
upon  the  natural  and  unalienable  rights 
of  his  crown.  His  kingdom  ruleth  over 
all  ;  it  is  a  universal  dominion  :  and 
consequently,  even  he  cannot,  extend  his 
conquests  beyond  the  just  limits  of  his 
own  empire.  He  must  reign  till  he  have 
put  all  his  enemies  under  his  feet,  and 
all  his  friends  upon  his  throne.  But  he 
stands  not  still  to  await  their  approach  : 
he  goes  forth.  Nor  must  his  living 
agency  be  stationary.  The  heralds  of 
mercy, — the  soldiers  of  the  cross, — the 
missionaries   of  good  tidings,   must   be 


LECTURE  XII. 


113 


sent  by  the  churches,  and  must  go  forth 
after  the  Captain  of  their  salvation.  In 
vain  would  the  churches  wait  and  pray- 
in  slothful  inactivity.  The  heathen 
world  would  never  be  brought  into  the 
Christian  temple,  unless  the  church's 
warfare  be  aggressive.  When  God's 
providence  hems  us  in  by  the  mountain 
and  the  sea,  so  that  we  cannot  go  for- 
ward nor  backward ;  to  the  right  hand,  or 
to  the  left,  then  we  are  to  stand  still, 
and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord.  But 
when  he  has  placed  before  us  an  open 
door,  great  and  effectual,  whereby  we 
can  enter  upon  Gentile  territory,  and 
possess  it  in  the  name  of  the  Most 
High,  is  it  a  time  for  inactivity?  Nor 
is  such  inactivity  characteristic  of  the 
Lord's  hosts.  The  breaker  up  of  the 
ways  has  gone  before  us.  His  shout  is 
in  the  valleys,  and  the  mountain  sides 
re-echo  the  songs  of  his  joy.  Let  the 
church  be  up  and  doing.  Bloodless  vic- 
tories are  in  reversion  for  the  friends  of 
truth. 

But  who  may  share  in  the  glories  of 
this  warfare,  and  the  triumphs  of  this 
king?  Thou, — upon  whose  brow  is  the 
dew  of  youth, — even  thou  !  This  day 
we  tell  thee,  with  authority  from  the 
Monarch  himself,  that  thine  assistance 
is  needed.  His  ranks  are  not  full ;  they 
must  be  complete,  or  the  cause  will 
suffer.  We  tender  thee  in  his  name  a 
commission  in  his  royal  army, — a  com- 
mission not  to  be  bought  with  gold,  but 
with  a  heart  of  lion  courage,  that  can 
dare  to  follow  the  Captain  of  salvation. 
This  commission  is  offered  thee,  not  in 
time  of  peace  and  quiet,  when  it  might 
be  ignominious  to  receive  it, — when  it 
might  be  that  no  opportunity  would  be 
presented  for  thee  to  win  the  applause  of 
thy  Commander,  and  the  admiration  of 
thy  comrades.  But  it  is  pressed  upon 
thee  on  the  eve  of  a  general  war,  when 
battles  must  be  fought, — when  victories 
must  be  won, — when  the  very  posses- 
sion of  a  commission  is  itself  evidence 
of  the  King's  confidence.  The  enemy's 
bulwarks  must  be  assaulted  ere  long, 
and  carried  at  the  sword's  point :  and 
the  high  honour  of  leading  the  forlorn 
hope  against  some  of  these,  is  proffered 

15 


this  day  to  thee!  What  a  field  for 
sanctified  ambition  is  here  !  And  who 
is  he,  that  with  a  bounding  heart,  would 
not  enter  upon  it  ?  Who  will  take  his 
life  in  his  hand,  descend  into  the  plain, 
and  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  Son  of 
David  ? 

Ah !  is  there  none, — none  to  say, 
"here  am  I,  send  me!"  No  youth  whose 
soul  tells  him, — thou  canst  dare  the  con- 
flict ;  surely  thou  canst  trust  the  protect- 
ing power  of  the  King ! 

If  not ; — then  know,  O,  youth  !  that 
our  Leader  will  not  lack  officers,  nor  sol- 
diers, nor  battles,  nor  conquests,  nor 
glories  unutterable ;  but  thou  shalt  lack 
sword  and  bow  in  the  time  of  conflict,—-, 
a  voice  of  exultation  in  the  hour  of  vic- 
tory,— a  crown  of  glory  in  the  day  of 
triumph ! 

But  if  thou  art  willing  to  serve  this 
King,  then  gird  on  thy  weapon,  mount 
thy  white  horse,  and  descend  into  the 
field.  Should  the  eyes,  of  friends, — of 
kindred, — of  country, — of  the  church, 
lose  sight  of  thee  for  a  time,  amid  the 
clouds  of  battle,  what  boots  it  ?  The 
burning  eye  of  thy  Commander  is  on. 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  found  by  his  side 
when  he  returns  in  glory  ! 

THE  SECOND  SEAL. 

Verses  3,  4.  "  And  when  he  had  open-, 
ed  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second 
living  creature  say,  Come  and  see.  And 
there  went  out  another  horse  that  was 
red :  and  power  was  given  to  him  that 
sat  thereon  to  take  peace  from  the  earth, 
and  that  they  should  kill  one  another : 
and  there  was  given-  to  him  a  great 
sword." 

Upon  the  breaking  open  of  the  seal, 
another  portion  of  the  scroll  is  spread 
out.  When  the  Redeemer  unrolls  the 
book  of  hi?  providence,  what  was  before 
laid  up  in  the  divine  purpose,  and  out  of 
man's  sight,  becomes  visible.  This  pic- 
ture, which  is  now  apparent,  most  signi- 
ficantly represents  war,  havoc,  and  blood. 
And  this  destruction,  whatever  may  be 
the  instrumental  agents  in  its  accomplish- 
ment, is  all  under  the  direction  of  the 
Mediator. 


114 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


But  let  us  first  advert  to  the  charac- 
teristics, requisite  in  Gospel  ministers, 
during  periods  of  war  and  distress  ;  and 
especially  of  persecuting  wars.  The 
second  living  creature  calls  upon  the 
church,  to  come  and  see.  This,  we  have 
said,  is  a  representation  of  the  ministry, 
as  patient  endurers  of  labour,  toil,  and 
suffering  :  and  it  is  easy  to  perceive,  that 
when  the  whole  land  is  embroiled  in 
scenes  of  carnage,  and  when  the  people 
of  God  are  hunted  by  the  bloodhounds 
of  persecution, — it  is  easy  to  perceive 
how  the  public  servants  of  the  church 
must  experience  very  great  calamities, 
must  endure  excessive  hardships,  and 
usually  fall  the  first  victims  for  the  word 
of  God,  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 

The  rider  of  this  horse,  is  also  the 
mighty  Redeemer.  He  is  so  described  in 
Isaiah  lxiii.:  "Who  is  this  that  cometh 
from  Edom,  with  dyed  garments  from 
Bozrah  1 — Wherefore  art  thou  red  in 
thine  apparel,  and  thy  garments  like  one 
that  treadeth  the  wine-fat?  I  have  trodden 
the  wine-press  alone ;  and  of  the  people 
there  was  none  with  me :  for  I  will  tread 
them  in  mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in 
my  fury  ;  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprin- 
kled upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain 
all  my  raiment."  And  in  Psalm  xlvi.  8, 
it  is  said,  "  Come,  behold  the  works  of 
the  Lord,  what  desolations  he  hath  made 
in  the  earth."  The  God  of  providence 
rules  in  the  storm  of  battle;  he  giveth  the 
victory  to  whomsoever  he  will.  "  The 
Lord  is  a  man  of  war,"  (Ex.  xv.  3.) 
Hence  he  is  so  often  called  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  or  armies.  He  often  raises  up  the 
sword  of  oppression  to  scourge  his  of- 
fending church.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
incongruity  in  supposing  the  rider  here 
to  represent  the  same  person  who  comes 
from  Edom  ; — Jesus  is  mighty  to  save, 
but  he  is  also  mighty  to  destroy. 

The  colour  of  the  horse  is  again  to  be 
noted:  the  red  or  fiery  hue  clearly  be- 
tokens bloody  war,  and  accordingly,  the 
rider  has  power  given  to  him  to  take 
peace  from  the  earth.  So  the  Redeemer 
says,  "  I  am  not  come  to  send  peace  on 
the  earth,  but  a  sword."  All  that  is  ne- 
cessary to  light  up  the  torch  of  cruel  war, 
and  the  fires  of  fierce  persecution  over 


the  earth,  is  that  the  Redeemer  withdraw 
the  restraining  influences  of  his  grace 
from  men,  and  every  one's  hand  would 
soon  be  imbrued  in  his  brother's  blood. 
Being  left  to  the  freedom  of  their  own 
wills,  the  natural  corruption  of  the  heart 
would  take  command  of  men,  and  the 
result  would  be  wide-spread  ruin. 

The  earth,  when  used  symbolically, 
in  opposition  to  heaven,  represents  the 
civil  empire :  and  the  warring  period 
before  us,  may  therefore  be  expected 
deeply  to  affect  the  whole  land  as  well 
as  the  church.  History,  consequently, 
tells  of  conflicts  and  overturnings  great 
and  fearful.  In  the  application  of  this 
seal,  we  can  see  no  reason  to  dissent 
from  Bishop  Newton,  and  shall  therefore 
freely  appropriate  his  language.  "  This 
period,"  says  he,  "  commenceth  with 
Trajan,  who  came  from  the  West,  being 
a  Spaniard  by  birth,  and  was  the  first 
foreigner  who  was  elevated  to  the  impe- 
rial throne.  In  his  reign,  and  that  of  his 
successor,  Adrian,  there  were  horrid 
wars  and  slaughters,  and  especially  be- 
tween the  rebellious  Jews  and  the  Ro- 
mans. Dion  relates,  that  the  Jews  about 
Gyrene,  slew  of  the  Romans  and  Greeks, 
two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men, 
with  the  most  shocking  circumstances  of 
barbarity.  In  Egypt  also,  and  Cyprus, 
they  committed  the  like  barbarities,  and 
there  perished  two  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  men  more.  But  the  Jews  were 
subdued  in  their  turn  by  the  other  gene- 
rals, and  by  Lucius,  sent  against  them  by 
Trajan.  Eusebius,  writing  of  the  same 
time,  saith,  that  the  Jews,  inflamed  as 
it  were,  by  some  violent  and  seditious 
spirit,  in  the  first  conflict  gained  a  victory 
over  the  Gentiles,  who  flying  to  Alex- 
andria, took  and  killed  the  Jews  in  that 
city.  The  emperor  sent  Mai'cius  Turbo 
against  them  with  great  forces,  by  sea 
and  land ;  who,  in  many  battles,  slew 
many  myriads  of  the  Jews.  The  empe- 
ror also  suspecting  that  they  might  make 
the  like  commotions  in  Mesopotamia, 
ordered  Lucius  Quietus  to  expel  them 
out  of  the  province ;  who,  marching 
against  them,  slew  a  very  great  multi- 
tude of  them  there.  Crosius  treating  of 
the  same,  saith,  that  the  Jews,  with  an 


LECTURE  XIII. 


115 


incredible  commotion,  made  wild  as  it 
were  with  rage,  rose  at  once  in  different 
parts  of  the  earth.  For  throughout  all 
Lybia,  they  waged  the  fiercest  wars 
against  the  inhabitants,  and  the  country 
was  almost  desolated.  Egypt  also,  and 
Cyrene,  and  Thebais  they  disturbed  with 
cruel  seditions.  But  in  Alexandria  they 
were  overcome  in  battle.  In  Mesopota- 
mia also,  war  was  made  upon  the  rebel- 
lious Jews,  by  the  command  of  the  em- 
peror, so  that  many  thousands  of  them 
were  destroyed  with  vast  slaughter.  They 
utterly  destroyed  Salamis,  a  city  of  Cy- 
prus, having  first  murdered  all  the  in- 
habitants. These  things  were  transacted 
in  the  reign  of  Trajan ;  and  in  the  reign 
of  Adrian,  was  their  great  rebellion 
under  their  false  Messiah,  Barchochab, 
and  their  final  dispersion,  after  fifty  of 
their  strongest  castles,  and  nine  hundred 
and  eighty-five  of  their  best  towns  had 
been  demolished,  and  after  five  hundred 
and  eighty-five  thousand  men  had  been 
slain  by  the  sword,  besides  an  infinite 
number  who  had  perished  by  famine 
and  sickness  and  other  casualties ;  with 
great  loss  and  slaughter  too,  of  the  Ro- 
mans, insomuch,  that  the  emperor  for- 
bore the  usual  salutations  in  his  letters  to 
the  senate. 

"  Here  was  another  great  triumph  of 
Christ  over  his  enemies  :  and  the  Jews 
and  the  Romans,  both  persecutors  of 
the  Christians,  were  remarkably  made 
the  dreadful  executioners  of  divine  ven- 
geance upon  one  another.  The  great 
sicord  and  red  horse,  are  expressive  em- 
blems of  this  slaughtering  and  bloody 
period,  and  the  proclamation  for  slaugh- 
ter is  fitly  made  by  a  creature  like  an 
ox,  that  is  destined  for  slaughter.  This 
period  continued  during  the  reigns  of 
Trajan  and  his  successors,  by  blood  or 
adoption,  about  ninety-five  years." 

Thus  far  the  bishop  :  but  we  see  no 
reason  why  we  should  not  also  include 
the  persecutions  under  Trajan.  For 
although  Nerva,  the  successor  of  Domi- 
tian,  revoked  his  edict,  and  so  released 
John  from  Patmos,  and  other  Christians 
from  oppression  ;  yet  Trajan's  edict  still 
held  Christianity  as  a  capital  crime,  and 
many  were  punished  with  death  for  their 


adherence  to  it.  During  the  reign  of 
Adrian  also,  although  some  abatement 
of  their  calamities  occurred,  yet  in  the 
former  part  of  it,  many  suffered.  Nor 
did  they  escape  altogether  under  Anto- 
ninus Pius,  although  he  interposed  his 
authority  in  some  provinces  to  prevent 
it.  Under  "the  good  Aurelius,"  also, 
as  the  poet  impertinently  styles  that  un- 
godly persecuting  philosopher,  Marcus 
Antoninus,  many  Christians  bled.  This 
emperor,  were  he  now  alive,  would  be 
called  a  transcendental  philosopher.  He 
was  a  kind  of  pantheist.  He  had  God 
always  in  him,  and  of  course  resembled 
his  modern  brethren.  Many  churches 
felt  the  terrible  consequences  of  his 
malignity ;  but  those  of  Lyons  and 
Vienne  in  France,  were  almost  exter- 
minated. 

Here  then  is  blood  enough  to  charac- 
terize the  period  of  the  red  horse  :  but  a 
reflection  or  two,  and  we  must  close. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Gospel  ministry 
to  watch  narrowly  the  policy  and  the 
plots  of  kings  and  thrones,  that  they 
may  be  able  to  point  out  to  the  church 
approaching  calamities.  The  watchman 
who  gives  no  heed  to  this  may  be  caught 
sleeping  when  the  enemy  comes. 

Let  us  remember  that  amid  all  these 
commotions,  the  Lord  reigneth.  It  is 
the  Redeemer  who  rides  upon  the  red 
horse  of  war,  and  guides  him  whither- 
soever he  will.  It  belongs  to  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  great  King,  to  send  war 
or  to  conclude  peace.  It  is  therefore  of 
some  consequence  to  the  nation  to  reve- 
rence the  Messiah.  His  frown  makes 
war,  and  the  light  of  his  countenance 
spreads  abroad  the  sunshine  of  peace. 


LECTURE  XIII. 


THE  THIRD,  FOURTH,  AND  FIFTH  SEALS. 
Rev.  vi.  5-11. 

"  Light  is  sweet  and  a  pleasant  thing 
it  is  for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun." 
Hence    the    beauty   of   the    metaphor, 


116 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


"  God  is  light  and  in  him  is  no  dark- 
ness at  all,"  which  is  explained,  if  it  be 
possible  to  make  the  meaning  more  evi- 
dent, by  another  ;  "  I  am  the  truth." 
But  there  is  in  reality  no  need  of  illus- 
trating the  expression — "  God  is  light." 
"When  light  is  put  for  truth,  the  figure  is 
so  perfectly  natural,  and  so  beautifully 
expressive,  that  we  perceive  the  meaning 
as  promptly,  when  it  is  said,  God  is 
light,  as  when  it  is  said,  God  is  truth. 

Correspondent  to  this,  the  opposite 
colour,  black,  is  an  emblem  of  igno- 
rance and  error.  "  Darkness  covered 
the  earth — gross  darkness  the  people," 
— ignorance  pervaded  the  land. 

But  as  the  influence  of  light  in  ena- 
bling men  to  avoid  accidents  and  evils, 
is  obvious,  so  it  is  a  sign  of  prosperity, 
of  joy  and  gladness.  On  the  contrary, 
darkness  is  often  attended  with  danger 
and  risk  to  such  as  walk  in  it  ;  it  is  a 
diminution  of  comfort ;  and  hence,  an 
emblem  of  dulness  and  sadness.  Ig- 
norance, error,  and  falsehood,  lead  to 
mischief,  misery,  and  wretchedness,  and 
thus  black  becomes  the  sign  of  sorrow 
and  mourning.  And  here  lies  the 
philosophy  of  the  fact,  that  black  is  the 
mourner's  colour, — the  widow  claims  it 
as  her  own,  and  arrays  her  household 
in  it.  This  is  according  to  nature  and 
sound  sense  :  and  therefore,  opposition 
to  any  mourning  dress,  is  an  unreason- 
able, and  unnatural  prejudice.  It  is, 
moreover,  a  modern  prejudice, — a  no- 
velty :  for,  from  very  remote  antiquity, 
mourners  have  expressed  their  grief  by 
assuming  black  as  their  dress.  The 
sorrow  of  Israel  was  thus  expressed  ; 
"  What  profit  is  it — that  we  have  walked 
mournfully  before  the  Lord :"  (Mai.  iii. 
14  ;)  the  word  translated  mournfully, 
signifies  in  black.  And  Job,  cursing 
his  day,  invokes  darkness  upon  it,  (iii. 
4,  6.)  In  this  chapter  it  is  said  that  the 
sun  became  "  black  as  sackcloth  of 
hair :"  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
that  sackcloth  was  always  of  a  dark, 
sombre,  or  black  hue. 

There  is  also  in  scripture,  a  special 
appropriation  of  this  colour  to  a  specific 
calamitous  state  of  society.  "  For  the 
hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  am  I 


hurt.  I  am  black  ;  astonishment  hath 
taken  hold  upon  me."  (Jer.  viii.  21.) 
If  we  look  back  to  verse  13,  we  shall 
see,  that  this  distress  is  occasioned,  par- 
tially at  least,  by  famine, — "there  shall 
be  no  grapes  on  the  vine,  nor  figs  on 
the  fig  tree  ;  and  the  leaf  shall  fade." 
So  in  chap.  xiv.  2,  "  Judah  mourneth, 
and  the  gates  thereof  languish  ;  they 
are  black  unto  the  ground  :"  and  this 
because  of  famine:  verse  12,  "I  will 
consume  them,  by  the  sword,  and  by  the 
famine,  and  by  the  pestilence."  "Their 
visage  is  blacker  than  a  coal,  they  are 
not  known  in  the  streets ;  their  skin 
cleaveth  to  their  bones  ;  it  is  withered  ; 
it  is  become  like  a  stick.  They  that  be 
slain  with  the  sword  are  better  than  they 
that  be  slain  with  hunger ;  for  these  pine 
away,  stricken  through  for  want  of  the 
fruits  of  the  field."  (Lam.  iv.  8,  9.) 
"  Our  skin  was  black  like  an  oven,  be- 
cause of  the  terrible  famine,"  (verse  10.) 
Agreeably  therefore  to  scriptural  usage, 
we  interpret  the  colour  as  the  natural 
ally  of  famine. 

But  war  is  the  ordinary  antecedent  to 
famine ;  as  pestilence  is  its  usual  conse- 
quent. We  Americans  cannot  under- 
stand this  so  well  as  those  who  live  in  a 
dense  population,  where  the  consumer 
stands,  with  open  mouth,  watching  every 
movement  of  the  producer  of  bread  ; — 
where  the  swelling  mass  press  upon  the 
means  of  subsistence  ;  yet  a  moment's 
reflection  must  convince  us,  that  war, 
which  arrests  the  production  of  bread, 
and  wastes  much  that  is  produced,  as  it 
leaves  the  fields  uncultivated,  and  often 
tramples  them  down  in  its  wantonness, 
must  necessarily  bring  famine  in  its 
train  ;  so  also  famine,  in  a  dense  popu- 
lation, pollutes  the  atmosphere,  and  gene- 
rates pestilence,  and  other  contagious 
diseases. 

The  scriptural  doctrine  corresponds 
with  the  teachings  of  reason  and  obser- 
vation. "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  How 
much  more  when  I  send  my  four  sore 
judgments  upon  Jerusalem,  the  sword, 
and  the  famine,  and  the  noisome  beast, 
and  the  pestilence,  to  cut  off  from  it  man 
and  beast?"  (Ezek.  xiv.  21.)  "They 
shall  fall  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine, 


LECTURE  XIII. 


117 


and  by  the  pestilence"  (vi.  11);  and  in 
Jer.  xxiv.  10,  God  declares,  "I  will 
send  the  sword,  the  famine,  and  the  pes- 
tilence among  them." 

This  natural  and  scriptural  connexion 
and  order,  of  war,  famine,  and  pesti- 
lence, creates  a  strong  presumption,  that 
if  the  red  horse  is  an  emblem  of  war, 
the  black  is  that  of  famine.  Let  us  see 
whether  the  attendant  circumstances  con- 
sist therewith. 

"  And  I  beheld,  and  lo  !  a  black  horse, 
and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  pair  of 
balances  in  his  hand."  The  word  trans- 
lated balances  frequently  signifies  a  yoke 
— that  piece  of  wood  or  iron  which 
passes  between  the  oxen  or  horses ;  to 
the  middle  of  which  the  vehicle,  or  what- 
ever is  intended  to  be  drawn  along,  is 
fastened.  It  is  extremely  easy  to  un- 
derstand how  this  primary  meaning  of 
the  word  may  be  transferred  to  signify 
a  pair  of  scales  or  balances.  If  a  com- 
mon yoke  is  held  up  by  the  ring  to  which 
the  chain  for  draft  is  fastened,  it  forms 
a  pair  of  scales, — it  must  balance. 

But,  it  has  been  alleged,  that  the  word 
is  to  be  taken  in  its  primary  sense  of  a 
yoke ;  and  then  it  is  a  symbol  of  bon- 
dage : — to  pass  under  and  bear  the  yoke 
intimates  a  state  of  subjection.  This 
view  has  been  forcibly  dragged  in  to 
give  a  very  uncouth  and  untenable  inter- 
pretation to  the  whole  seal.  Mr.  Keith 
and  Mr.  Croly,  and  perhaps  others, 
maintain  that  the  black  horse  and  rider 
symbolize  Popery  ;  which,  truly  enough, 
is  dark,  and  gloomy,  and  has  its  founda- 
tion in  ignorance.  The  yoke,  they  af- 
firm, is  an  emblem  of  that  bondage 
which  the  Papacy  has  fastened  upon  the 
necks  of  mankind  :  and  having  bound  it 
upon  the  nations  of  Europe,  these  com- 
mentators set  the  Pope  to  break  up  with 
them  the  fallow  ground  of  his  iniquity  : 
he  has  sown  crime, — he  will  reap,  there- 
fore, a  harvest  of  blasphemy. 

The  chief  regret  we  have  in  regard  to 
this  exposition  is  the  advantage  which 
its  incongruity  and  disregard  of  chrono- 
logical order  gives  to  the  Romanists. 
They  may  well  ridicule  it :  and  hold  up 
Protestant  inconsistencies  as  evidence  of 
disagreement  on  the  subject  of  the  Pa- 


pacy ;  whereas,  it  is  just  ground  only 
of  inference,  that  some  expositors  are 
whimsical  as  to  minor  matters. 

Only  one  remark  worthy  of  notice  is 
offered  in  support  of  this  strange  expo- 
sition :  it  is,  that  the  Greek  word  is 
never  used  in  the  New  Testament  to 
signify  a  pair  of  balances.  The  thing 
meant  by  pair  of  balances  is  not  any 
where  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament, 
or  doubtless  this  very  word  would  have 
been  so  employed.  The  reason  why 
we  feel  confident  of  it  is  because  in 
every  instance  where  the  word  balances 
occurs  in  the  Old  Testament, — which  is 
fifteen  times, — this  very  Greek  word, 
%wyog,  yoke,  is  used  in  the  Greek  trans- 
lation. And  most  assuredly,  had  the 
New  Testament  writers  had  occasion  to 
express  the  idea  of  scales,  or  balances, 
fifteen  times,  they  would  have  used  %vyos 
every  time.  Nor  is  there  any  difficulty 
in  seeing  how  a  pair  of  scales,  as  here 
connected,  may  aid  in  representing  a 
scarcity  of  food.  "  Moreover,  he  said 
unto  me,  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  will 
break  the  staff  of  bread  in  Jerusalem, 
and  they  shall  eat  bread  by  weight  and 
with  care ;  and  they  shall  drink  water 
by  measure,  and  with  astonishment." 
(Ezek.  iv.  16.)  The  scales  in  a  man's 
hand  imply  great  precision  in  the  distri- 
bution of  small  quantities :  and  such  is 
usually  the  case  when  provisions  are 
extremely  scarce,  and,  of  course,  very 
high  priced.  In  ordinary  times  of  plenty, 
men  are  not  so  exact  in  weighing  or 
measuring  the  grosser  necessaries  of 
life. 

To  this  the  succeeding  expressions 
agree.  "  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a 
penny."  The  chenix,  or  measure  here 
mentioned,  is  equal  to  nearly  one  pint 
and  a  half  of  our  measure:  and  it  is 
very  generally  agreed  among  antiqua- 
rians that  a  chenix  of  wheat  was  the 
ordinary  daily  ration  of  a  working  man. 
The  denarius,  or  penny,  is  equivalent  to 
about  fourteen  cents  of  our  money  :  and 
there  is  a  uniform  agreement  among  the 
learned,  that  at  that  time  the  denarius 
was  the  usual  wages  per  day  of  a 
labourer.  "  As  there  are  thirty-two 
quarts,  or  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 


ns 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


half  pints  to  a  bushel,  the  chenix  is  not 
quite  one-fortieth  part  of  a  bushel.  Allow 
it,  however,  to  be  the  fortieth  part ;  and, 
at  fourteen  cents,  the  price  of  a  bushel 
will  be  five  dollars  and  sixty  cents. 
This  price,  when  the  wages  of  a  day- 
labourer  was  as  low  as  fourteen  cents, 
indicates  great  famine.  Dabuz  shows, 
from  ancient  authorities,  that  in  time  of 
plenty,  twenty  chenixes  were  sold  for  a 
denarius.  The  scarcity  must  be  great 
when  the  price  of  wheat  was  raised 
twenty  to  one ;  and  other  bread  corn  in 
proportion."     (McLeod,  p.  94.) 

"  And  three  measures  of  barley  for 
a  penny."  The  proportional  value  of 
wheat  and  barley,  then,  was  as  three  to 
one.  The  price  of  barley  must  have 
been  equal  to  one  dollar  eighty-seven 
cents  of  our  money ;  indicative  of  ex- 
treme scarcity. 

"  And  see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and 
the  wine."  The  word  translated  hurt 
signifies  properly  to  do  injustice ;  as, 
Matt.  xx.  13,  "Friend,  I  do  thee  no 
wrong."  Acts  vii.  24,  26,  27,  "  And 
seeing  one  of  them  suffer  wrong,  why 
do  ye  wrong  one  to  another.  But  he 
that  did  his  neighbour  wrong  thrust  him 
away."  Rev.  ii.  11,  "  He  that  over- 
cometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second 
death," — shall  suffer  no  injustice  from 
the  second  death.  Chap.  vii.  2,  3,  "  to 
whom  it  was  given  to  hurt  the  earth 
and  the  sea,  saying,  hurt  not  the  earth, 
neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees."  In  the 
verse  before  us,  it  appears  to  be  taken 
in  its  primary  sense  of  injustice ;  do  no 
injustice  in  reference  to  the  oil  and  the 
wine.  These,  it  is  well  known,  belonged 
mainly  to  the  rich  :  they  were  luxuries, 
and  were  found  only  on  the  tables  of 
the  wealthy.  As  it  regards  them,  there 
is  thrown  in  a  prohibition, — let  the  even 
balances  of  justice  be  used  in  their  dis- 
tribution. This  again  intimates  strong 
temptation  to  mix,  and  medicate,  and 
practise  fraud,  because  of  extreme  high 
price  :  and  is  also  a  symptom  of  scarcity. 

To  this  again  corresponds  the  minis- 
terial figures.  In  times  of  famine  there 
is  opened  a  wide  door  for  the  out-going 
of  human  sympathy.  When,  therefore, 
the  seal  is  opened,  the  third  living  crea- 


ture, having  a  face  as  a  man,  calls  the 
attention  of  the  church.  If  the  children 
cry  for  bread,  and  there  is  none,  it  is  a 
time  for  deep  commiseration.  How  the 
heart's  sympathy  kindles  at  the  inter- 
view between  Elijah  and  the  widow,  who 
was  gathering  sticks  to  bake  her  last 
handful  of  meal !  On  no  occasion  is 
there  a  louder  call  for  all  that  is  tender 
in  human  affection,  to  be  exercised  by 
the  ministers  and  members  of  the  church, 
than  in  times  of  famine. 

Let  us  turn  our  eye  upon  the  historic 
page,  and  see  if  facts  can  be  found  to 
sustain  this  exposition  of  the  symbol. 
Bishop  Newton  applies  all  this  to  the  pe- 
riod of  the  reign  of  the  Septinian  fami- 
ly, about  forty-two  years  ;  during  which 
great  scarcity  prevailed.  Vast  efforts 
were  made  to  prevent  the  consequent  mi- 
series by  laying  up  stores  of  provisions. 
But  here,  as  before,  we  may  conceive 
the  seal  to  extend  farther :  and  so  cover 
all  the  famine  that  occurred  in  the  pe- 
riod of  the  seals.  Eusebius  gives  us  an 
awful  description  of  famine  and  pesti- 
lence, and  seems  to  apply  it  to  the  reign 
of  Maximin  ;  but  probably  permitted  his 
eye  to  take  a  farther  range.  "  But," 
says  he,  "  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of 
cities  under  him  were  dreadfully  afflicted 
both  by  famine  and  pestilence,  so  that  a 
single  measure  of  wheat  was  sold  for  two 
thousand  five  hundred  Attic  drachms. 
Immense  numbers  were  dying  in  the 
cities,  still  more  in  the  country  and  vil- 
lages, so  that  now  the  vast  population  in 
the  interior  was  almost  entirely  swept 
away — nearly  all  being  suddenly  de- 
stroyed by  want  of  food  and  pestilential 
disease.  Some,  indeed,  wasted  away 
to  mere  skeletons,  stumbled  hither  and 
thither  like  dead  shadows,  trembling  and 
tottering  from  excessive  weakness  and 
inability  to  stand.  So  that  now,  in  the 
midst  of  the  streets  and  lanes,  the  dead 
and  naked  bodies,  cast  out  and  lying  for 
many  days,  presented  a  most  painful 
spectacle  to  the  beholders."  (Book  ix. 
chap,  viii.)  The  heart  sickening  details 
here  described,  it  will  be  remembered, 
are  pointed  out  by  a  cotemporary.  They 
occurred,  in  part,  during  his  own  age, 
and  may  the  more  safely  be  confided  in. 


LECTURE  XIII. 


119 


There  was,  also,  severe  famine  in  the 
first  year  of  the  reign  of  Gallus ;  and 
this  was  speedily  followed  by  pestilence, 
which  broke  out  in  Ethiopia  and  spread 
throughout  the  empire  with  fearful  ha- 
voc. (See  Uni.  Hist.  xiii.  p.  480.)  Truly 
the  Son  of  God  displayed  his  indigna- 
tion in  fearful  terrors  when  he  rode 
forth  upon  the  black  horse  of  famine. 

THE  FOURTH  SEAL. 

Verses  7,  8.  "  And  when  he  had 
opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice 
of  the  fourth  living  creature  say,  Come 
and  see.  And  I  looked,  and  behold,  a  pale 
horse:  and  his  name  that  sat  on  him  was 
death,  and  hell  followed  with  him." 

1.  Let  us  note  the  colour, — "a  pale 
horse,"  (^Xwpoj),  a  livid  green,  like  the 
complexion  of  a  person  long  worn  down 
by  diseases  which  prevail  on  flat,  low 
lands;  where  pestilential  miasma  abounds 
— the  colour  of  a  corpse.  We  have 
seen  that  the  sword,  famine  and  pesti- 
lence are  the  three  leading  instruments 
of  God's  judgments  upon  the  wicked 
nations.     This  represents  the  last. 

2.  The  rider  of  the  horse,  he  who 
directs  this  terrible  scourge,  is,  of  course, 
the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  There 
is  no  disease  mentioned  in  scripture, 
which  is  represented  so  immediately  un- 
der divine  direction,  as  the  pestilence  or 
plague ;  and  the  conceptions  of  man 
correspond  to  scripture.  When  David 
had  offended  in  numbering  Israel,  he 
had  his  choice  between  war,  famine  and 
pestilence  as  the  instruments  of  his  chas- 
tisement. He  chose  the  last,  as  being 
most  entirely  and  immediately  under 
the  divine  direction :  "  Let  us  fall  now 
into  the  hand  of  the  Lord."  "  So  the 
Lord  sent  a  pestilence  upon  Israel."  And 
it  is  manifest,  that  the  Angel  destroyer 
that  stayed  his  hand  as  it  was  stretched 
out  over  Jerusalem,  is  the  uncreated 
Angel  Jehovah,  to  whom  David  offered 
sacrifice. 

But  this  rider's  name  is  death.  Now 
the  Mediator  is  Lord  of  life;  there  is 
therefore  an  incongruity  in  his  being  re- 
presented under  the  personification  of 
Death. 


To  this  objection,  the  first  answer  is 
the  statement  just  made,  that  the  plague 
or  pestilence  is  peculiarly  under  God's 
immediate  direction.  It  is  He  that  kills 
by  the  sword,  famine  and  pestilence. 
This  objection  therefore,  cannot  be  sus- 
tained against  the  matter  of  the  figure. 
The  pale  horse  is  the  Mediator's  agency 
to  punish  wicked  men ;  he  himself  di- 
rects this  agency.  The  objection  then 
lies  solely  against  the  sign,  not  against 
the  thing  signified. 

2.  We  have  an  analogous  case  in  the 
serpent  as  a  symbol  of  wisdom ;  and 
an  emblem  of  Christ.  It  is  undeniable, 
that  the  serpent  elevated  by  Moses,  was 
a  type  of  Christ.  So  he  himself  ap- 
plied it.  "  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  so  shall  the  Son 
of  man  be  lifted  up."  Now,  the  incon- 
gruity here,  is  the  more  striking,  because 
the  serpent  was  used  by  Satan  as  the 
instrument  of  the  first  temptation  ;  and 
hence  too,  he  is  called,  "  that  old  serpent 
the  devil."  Still  it  is  an  emblem  of  wis- 
dom, and  such  was  the  use  made  of  it 
by  Moses  according  to  divine  direction. 
So  here,  Jesus  represents  himself  as  the 
executioner  of  death  upon  rebellious  man. 
He  directs  the  plague-stroke  where  to  fall. 

3.  But  moreover,  the  supposed  incon- 
gruity is  in  our  imagination.  We  have 
ever  accustomed  ourselves  to  view  death 
as  an  object  of  extreme  terror,  and  thus 
to  personify  and  paint  him  in  hideous 
colours.  It  will  indeed,  be  very  difficult 
for  him  who  has  stood  mute  and  ab- 
sorbed, gazing  upon  the  horrible  demo- 
niacal figure  which  the  genius  of  our 
countryman  has  placed  upon  the  pale 
horse  as  he  plunges  down  the  hill-side, 
— happiness  and  health  and  life  all  flee- 
ing at  his  approach  ;  for  such  it  will  be 
difficult  to  overcome  the  influence  of  that 
most  terrific  vision,  and  to  bring  his 
feelings  to  endure  the  suggestion  that 
death  on  the  pale  horse  is  the  Prince  of 
life,  taking  vengeance  on  men  by  the 
instrumentality  of  the  plague.  But  let 
us  not  worship  the  painted  canvass,  nor 
shudder  even  at  this  combination  of  co- 
lours. It  were  as  great  folly  to  allow 
the  artist  to  drive  us  off  the  ground  of 
plain  fact  and  common  sense,  by  this 


120 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


wonderful  painting,  as  to  permit  Ra- 
phael to  bend  us  down  in  humble  adora- 
tion before  his  Madonna.  Let  us  keep 
judgment  on  her  throne,  and  set  imagi- 
nation to  correct  her  own  errors.  If 
West  had  spent  the  energies  of  his  great 
mind  in  giving  us  a  painting  of  Death's 
visit  to 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his 
fate," 

how  very  different  must  have  been  the 
result !  Then  indeed  we  should  not 
have  seen  that  grim  countenance,  that 
haggard  visage,  those  fiendish  eyes,  that 
erect  hair,  intertwined  with  hissing  ser- 
pents, that  arm  outstretched  and  nerved, 
ana  forked  disease  like  electric  sparks 
emanating  from  that  clenched  hand. 
Far  from  it.  Death  would  then  have 
come  with  a  countenance  arrayed  in  all 
heaven's  loveliness,  joy  sparkling  in  his 
eye,  grace  upon  his  lips,  robes  of  right- 
eousness and  a  crown  of  glory  in  his 
hand.  Like  the  messenger  of  Egypt's 
king,  when  he  came  to  the  cell  of  the 
captive  Hebrew  youth  to  array  him  in 
royal  robes,  and  to  put  a  chain  of  gold 
about  his  neck,  Death  would  have  been 
seen  on  the  canvass  riding  in  triumph 
and  splendour  to  bear  the  ransomed 
spirit  to  his  throne  of  brightness  above 
the  skies.  But  the  painter's  object  was, 
to  exhibit  Death  as  he  is  viewed  by  wick- 
ed men ;  and  doubtless,  the  Lamb  of 
God  is  not  an  object  of  complacency 
and  delight  in  the  eyes  of  those  who 
have  sinned  away  their  day  of  grace, 
in  trampling  under  foot  his  blood.  How- 
ever difficult  therefore,  it  may  be  for  us 
to  vanquish  our  imaginations,  still  the 
sober  fact  is,  that  the  Mediator  is  the 
God  of  providence,  and  the  pestilence 
is  his  ministering  servant. 

"  And  hell  followed  with  him."  The 
word  translated  hell,  is  Hades, — the 
grave  opens  wide  her  mouth  to  receive 
those  whom  the  plague  smites  down. 

We  should  observe,  that  the  plague 
is,  or  at  least  has  always  been  reputed 
a  contagious  disease,  originating  in  phy- 
sical impurity.  Hence,  the  natural  re- 
lation it  sustains  to  war  and  famine,  and 
the  eagle  eye  of  vigilance  to  detect  its 


approach.  Whatever  promotes  cleanli- 
ness, will  tend  to  arrest  its  progress. 
Desolating  fires  consume  its  generating 
causes.  The  city  of  London  was  ter- 
ribly scourged  with  it  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.,  and  in  that  of  Elizabeth, 
about  1563,  twenty  thousand  persons 
were  cut  off  by  it  in  one  year,  in  that 
city.  In  1665,  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
II.,  ninety  thousand  perished.  In  1666, 
on  a  Sabbath  day,  a  fire  broke  out  near 
London  bridge,  and  raged  with  fury  for 
three  days ;  thirteen  thousand  houses 
were  destroyed.  But  this  dreadful  visi- 
tation cured  the  plague.  The  city  was 
built  up  with  wider  streets  and  better 
houses,  and  that  fearful  scourge  has  not 
been  known  in  London  since.  Turkish 
cities  are  sinks  of  filth,  and  consequently 
liable  to  the  pestilence.  Constantinople 
has  suffered  often,  and  it  will  continue 
to  suffer,  no  doubt,  until  the  moral  fires 
of  Christianity  and  the  natural  element 
shall  combine  for  its  purification. 

Here  we  may  note,  that  the  vigilant 
eyes  of  the  Christian  ministry  are  repre- 
sented by  the  eagle-faced  living  ones. 
Accordingly,  during  seasons  of  calamity 
from  this  disease,  they  are  peculiarly 
active  and  watchful.  Christianity  has 
almost  entirely  banished  the  plague. 
Physically  it  dries  up  the  fountains  of 
this  disease,  by  the  habits  of  cleanliness 
which  it  produces.  The  sabbatic  institu- 
tion alone,  is  an  antidote, — rather  a  pro- 
phylactic remedy  against  it.  Wherever 
the  sabbath  and  its  attendant  services 
meet  with  proper  regard,  there  the  mass 
of  the  people  are  lifted  up  to  -habits  of 
natural  purity. 

Such  is  the  fourth  seal ;  and  we  have 
already  cited  Eusebius  on  the  points  of 
its  leading  feature,  pestilence.  Bishop 
Newton  begins  it  with  Maximin,  the 
Thracian  giant,  who  was  a  ferocious 
being,  far  more  allied  to  the  brute  crea- 
tion than  to  humanity.  Fierce  contests 
for  power  desolated  the  land,  and  famine 
brought  pestilence  in  its  train.  An  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  horrors  of  these 
times,  by  the  fact,  that  from  the  death  of 
Nero  in  69,  to  the  reign  of  Maximin, 
about  313 — a  space  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  four  years,  there  were  more  than 


LECTURE  XIII. 


121 


f  fty  emperors  :  nearly  all  of  whom 
waded  to  power  through  blood,  and  then 
fell  by  violence ; — only  seventeen  died  a 
natural  death. 

The  latter  part  of  verse  8,  refers,  as 
we  suppose,  to  the  three  seals  which 
symbolize  war,  famine,  and  pestilence. 
Griesbach  proposes  and  prefers  a  dif- 
ferent reading, — introducing  the  sin- 
gular instead  of  the  plural.  We  have 
it  thus  :  "  And  power  was  given  unto 
them  over  the  fourth  part  of  the 
earth "  The  question  arises  con- 
cerning the  antecedent  of  tliem.  Who 
are  meant  ?  If  we  adopt  Griesbach's 
reading,  him,  then  the  answer  must  be, 
Death :  but  if  we  retain  them,  it  must 
be  the  red,  black,  and  pale  horses.  For 
the  apostle  describes  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  to  kill  the  fourth  part  of 
men  ;  by  war,  famine,  and  plague,  add- 
ing from  Ezekiel,  the  noisome  beasts, 
which  are  an  accompaniment  of  the 
whole  three.  And  so  history  has  re- 
corded it.  Bishop  Newton  quotes  a 
Latin  writer,  who  affirms  that,  upon  the 
approach  of  the  ferocious  Maximin  and 
his  entrance  into  a  certain  city,  he  en- 
countered five  hundred  wolves  :  the  in- 
habitants of  the  city  having  left  it  to 
wild  beasts.  The  terrible  exactions  of 
taxation  prevented  much  of  the  land 
from  being  cultivated,  and  the  insecurity 
of  property  from  this  and  other  causes, 
produced  scarcity,  and  this  famine,  pes- 
tilence ;  and  all  furnished  carcasses  for 
beasts  of  prey. 


THE  FIFTH  SEAL. 

Verses  9-11.  "And  when  he  had 
opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  the 
altar  the  souls  of  them  that  had  been 
slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  which  they  held  :  and  they 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou 
not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?  And  white 
robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of 
them  ;  and  it  was  said  unto  them,  that 
they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season, 
until  their  fellow-servants  also,  and  their 

16 


brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they 
were,  should  be  fulfilled." 

The  Christian  religion  is  exclusive  in 
principle  and  uncompromising  in  prac- 
tice. It  admits  no  other  religion  to  be 
true,  and  for  that  reason  it  cannot  trim 
and  accommodate  itself  to  the  opinions  of 
men.  Like  all  other  moral  truth,  it  is 
immutable  and  eternal  ;  and  therefore, 
its  direct  and  irreconcilable  hostility  to 
all  false  systems.  Its  war  upon  error  is 
a  war  of  extermination.  During  the 
Valerian  persecution,  between  A.  D. 
257  and  260,  Dionysius,  Bishop  of 
Alexandria,  was  brougbt  before  iEmilian, 
the  Prefect  of  Egypt,  and  asked  to  re- 
cant and  worship  the  heathen  gods  ;  he 
replied,  "  We  ought  to  obey  God  rather 
than  man ;  I  worship  God,  who  alone 
ought  to  be  worshipped."  "  Hear  the 
clemency  of  the  emperor,"  says  iEmi- 
lian  ;  "  you  are  all  pardoned,  provided 
you  return  to  a  natural  duty,  adore  the 
gods  who  guard  the  empire,  and  forsake 
those  things  which  are  contrary  to  na- 
ture." Dionysius  answered,  "  All  men 
do  not  worship  all  gods,  but  men  wor- 
ship variously  according  to  their  senti- 
ments. But  we  worship  one  God,  the 
maker  of  all  things,  who  gave  the  em- 
pire  to  the  most  clement  Emperors  Va- 
lerian and  Gallienus,  to  whom  we  pour 
out  incessant  prayers  for  their  pros- 
perous administration."  "  What  can 
be  the  meaning,"  says  iEmilian,  "  why 
you  may  not  still  adore  that  God  of 
yours,  (supposing  him  to  be  a  God,)  in 
conjunction  with  our  gods?"  Dionysius 
answered,  "  We  worship  no  other  god." 
"  From  this  remarkable  question  of  the 
prefect,  (says  Milner,  vol.  i.  441,)  it  is 
evident  that  men  might  have  been  tole- 
rated in  the  worship  of  Jesus,  if  they 
had  allowed  idolaters  too  to  be  right  in 
the  main,  by  associating  idols  with  the 
true  God.  The  firmness  of  Christians, 
in  this  respect,  provoked  their  enemies." 
So,  in  the  same  persecution,  Cyprian, 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  was  brought  before 
the  proconsul,  and  was  asked  by  him — 
"  Are  you  Thascius  Cyprian  ?"  "  I  am." 
"  Are  you  he  whom  the  Christians  call 
their  bishop?"  "lam."  "  Our  princes 
have  ordered  you  to  worship  the  gods." 


122 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


"  That  I  shall  not  do."  "  You  will  do 
better  to  consult  your  safety  and  not 
despise  the  gods."  "  My  safety  and 
virtue  is  Christ  the  Lord,  whom  I  desire 
to  serve  for  ever  and  ever."  "  I  pity 
your  case,"  says  the  proconsul,  "  and 
could  wish  to  consult  for  you."  "  I  do 
not  wish,"  says  the  prelate,  "  that  things 
should  be  otherwise  with  me,  than  that 
adoring  my  God,  1  may  hasten  to  him 
with  all  the  ardour  of  my  soul ;  for  the 
afflictions  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  The 
proconsul,  now  reddening  with  anger, 
says,  "  You  have  lived  sacrilegiously  a 
long  time,  and  have  formed  into  a  so- 
ciety* men  of  an  impious  conspiracy, 
and  have  shown  yourself  an  enemy  to 
the  gods  and  their  religion,  and  have  not 
hearkened  to  the  equitable  counsels  of 
our  princes,  but  have  ever  been  a  father 
of  the  impious  sect,  and  their  ringleader  : 
you  shall  therefore  be  an  example  to  the 
rest  and  they  shall  learn  their  duty  by 
your  blood.  Let  Thascius  Cyprian, 
who  refuses  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  be 
put  to  death  by  the  sword."  "  God  be 
praised,"  said  the  martyr ;  and  while 
they  were  leading  him  away,  a  multitude 
of  the  people  followed  and  cried,  "  Let 
us  die  with  our  holy  bishop."  His  head 
was  cut  off  by  the  sword.  (Milner, 
vol.  i.  423.) 

These  extracts  illustrate  the  exclusive 
character  of  Christianity  and  its  uncom- 
promising resistance  to  all  false  religion. 
It  can  form  no  alliance  with  error.  A 
true  Christian  can  worship  only  the  true 
God.  He  can  perform  no  act,  whereby 
the  right  of  any  idol  to  religious  venera- 
tion is  expressed.  He  is  consequently 
looked  upon  by  his  enemy,  as  obstinate 
and  unaccommodating.  The  infidel, 
whether  nominally  pagan  or  Christian, 
whose  conscience  is  elastic,  as  a  Jesuit's, 
can  come  and  go  over  a  large  field  ;  he 
is  liberal,  and  will  give  and  take:  he  is 
not  bigoted  and  cramped  by  the  tight 
bands  of  orthodoxy.  Not  knowing 
what  truth  is,  and  of  course  having  no 
-  love  for  it,  he  cannot  conceive  how  a 
,  ■•''person  should  find  any  difficulty  in  wor- 
shipping God  the  Creator,  and  at  the 


same  time  bowing  the  knee  to  the  image 
of  the  emperor,  or  the  Virgin  Mary, — 
the  Vesta  of  modern  Rome.  But,  they 
whose  souls  have  been  enlightened  from 
above,  have  been  always  ready  upon 
their  Lord's  call,  to  seal  their  testimony 
with  their  blood,  to  hold  fast  the  truth 
in  the  face  of  danger  and  of  death.  To 
reveal  this  characteristic  is  the  province 
of  the  fifth  seal.  Its  matter  concerns 
times  of  persecution  and  martyrdom  for 
the  word  of  God, — on  account  of  the 
doctrine  of  God  and  the  testimony  which 
they  held.  "And  I  saw  under  the  altar, 
the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain." 
This  their  position  beneath  the  altar, 
most  forcibly  represents  their  depen- 
dence upon  the  atonement  of  Christ  as 
the  foundation  of  their  hope.  The  altar 
of  burnt  offerings  or  place  for  sacrifices, 
is  a  symbol  of  Jesus,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
in  all  that  part  of  his  mediatorial  work, 
which  consists  in  suffering  for  his  people, 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  There  is  no 
other  place  of  safety  for  sinful  man,  but 
under  the  altar,  the  covert  of  the  Sa- 
viour's blood. 

These  souls  of  the  dead  martyrs  are 
heard  to  pray  with  a  loud  voice,  for  the 
judgments  of  God  upon  the  persecutors 
of  the  church.  Or,  perhaps  it  will  be 
more  correct  to  say,  they  inquire  how 
long  it  shall  be,  before  vengeance  due, 
shall  be  inflicted.  This  implies  their  be- 
lief, that  vengeance  will  come  in  its  sea- 
son. And  the  basis  of  this  their  belief, 
is  expressed  in  the  attributes  they  ascribe 
to  their  God, — holy  and  true.  If  God  is 
holy  and  true,  he  will  punish  unholiness, 
and  in  so  doing,  prove  true  to  his  promise 
that  he  will  avenge  his  own  elect. 

Let  us  moreover,  mark  the  objects  of 
this  vengeance :  "  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth."  That  is,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Roman  empire — especially  the  emperors 
and  leading  men  in  the  government. 

From  this,  it  is  manifest  that  many 
and  extensive  persecutions  had  already 
occurred  : — the  day  of  retribution  seems 
to  be  long  deferred.  This  may  aid  us 
in  locating  the  seal.  The  answer  to  the 
prayer  farther  leads  to  its  chronology. 
They  are  informed,  that  they  must  re- 
main contented  and  quiet  for  a  time,  until 


LECTURE  XIII. 


123 


another  or  other  persecutions  should 
be  over.  Legions  of  martyrs  are  yet  to 
bleed,  before  the  destroying  power  shall 
in  turn  be  destroyed.  If,  therefore,  we 
can  find  violent  persecution  at  a  late  date 
of  the  Pagan  empire,  we  may  safely  con- 
clude, that  this  seal  was  opened  a  short 
time  before  that:  in  a  period  of  compara- 
tive rest  to  the  church.  Such  period 
occurred  immediately  after  the  death  of 
the  Emperor  Aurelian,  A.  D.,  275. 
Somewhat  preceding  this, — from  257  to 
260,  had  raged  the  Valerian  persecution. 
It  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the  captivity 
of  Valerian,  who  was  conquered  and 
taken  prisoner  by  Sapor,  King  of  Persia. 
"  All  authors  agree,  that  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  carried  in  triumph  into  Persia, 
and  insulted  in  the  most  disgraceful 
manner  by  that  haughty  conqueror  ; 
who,  after  having  showed  him  loaded 
with  chains  in  all  the  chief  cities  of  his 
empire,  treated  him  with  great  indignity, 
making  him  his  footstool  whenever  he 
mounted  on  horseback.  After  his  death, 
(which  was  at  least  nine  years  after  his 
captivity,)  his  body  was  flayed  by  Sapor's 
orders,  preserved  in  salt ;  and  his  skin 
dressed,  dyed  red,  and  exposed  in  a  tem- 
ple ;  where,  to  the  eternal  ignominy  of 
the  Roman  name,  it  was  exhibited  to  all 
foreign  princes  and  ambassadors,  as  a 
lasting  monument  of  the  power  of  the  Per- 
sian monarch."  (See  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  xiii. 
p.  486.)  Thus,  God  began  to  avenge  his 
own  elect,  in  the  disgrace  and  death  of 
their  bloody  persecutor :  and  thus  ended 
the  ninth  general  persecution. 

Fifteen  years  later,  Aurelian  issued 
an  edict  to  exterminate  the  Christians ; 
but  he  was  cut  off  by  a  conspiracy  of 
his  own  nearest  friends,  A.  D.,  275. 
From  this  to  the  Dioclesian  persecution 
in  A.  D.,  303,  the  church  experienced 
little  distress  of  this  kind  :  and  here,  we 
think,  is  the  proper  chronology  of  the 
fifth  seal. 

This  season  of  rest  came  to  a  close, 
and  legions  of  God's  witnesses  were 
crowned  with  martyrdom.  This  time, 
is  called  in  church  history,  the  Era  of 
martyrs,  and  the  Era  of  Dioclesian,  be- 
cause of  the  vast  numbers  that  suffered. 
From  Eusebius,  who  lived  in  the  midst 


of  it,  we  will  present  a  few  extracts  as 
a  sample  of  the  whole.  "We  shall  give 
an  account  of  the  end  of  one,  leaving  it 
for  our  readers  to  conjecture  what  must 
have  been  the  character  of  the  sufferings 
inflicted  on  others.  He  was  led  into  the 
middle  of  the  aforesaid  city,  (Nicomedia) 
before  those  emperors  already  mentioned, 
(Dioclesian  and  Valerius.)  He  was  com- 
manded to  sacrifice  (to  the  heathen  gods), 
but,  as  he  refused,  he  was  ordered  to  be 
stripped,  and  lifted  on  high,  and  to  be 
scourged  with  rods  over  his  whole  body, 
until  he  should  be  subdued  in  his  resolu- 
tion, and  forced  to  do  what  he  was  com- 
manded. But  as  he  was  immovable  amid 
all  these  sufferings,  his  bones  already 
appearing  bared  of  the  flesh,  they  mixed 
vinegar  with  salt,  and  poured  it  upon  the 
mangled  parts  of  the  body.  But  as  he 
bore  these  tortures,  a  gridiron  and  fire 
were  produced,  and  the  remnants  of  his 
body,  like  pieces  of  meat  for  roasting  and 
eating,  were  placed  in  the  fire,  not  all  at 
once,  so  that  he  might  expire  soon,  but 
taken  by  little  and  little,  whilst  his  tor- 
turers were  not  permitted  to  let  him  alone, 
unless  after  these  sufferings  he  breathed 
his  last  before  they  had  completed  their 
task.  He,  however,  persevered  in  his 
purpose,  and  gave  up  his  life  victorious 
in  the  midst  of  his  tortures.  Such  was 
the  martyrdom  of  one  of  the  imperial 
domestics,  worthy  in  reality  of  his  name, 
for  he  was  called  Peter."  (Book  viii., 
chap,  vi.) 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  was 
the  treatment  of  a  man,  in  whom  the 
emperor  and  his  family  had  placed  the 
most  unbounded  confidence,  and  toward 
whom  they  exercised  a  remarkable  de- 
gree of  affection,  up  to  the  very  hour  in 
which  Dioclesian  yielded  to  the  urgency 
of  Galerius,  and  consented  to  the  perse- 
cution. He  was  a  man  whose  tried 
integrity  had  won  all  hearts  to  him- 
self in  the  most  sincere  friendship.  His 
only  crime  was  love  to  God  and  man, 
exhibited  in  his  devoted  worship,  and  re- 
fusal to  bow  to  a  heathen  idol. 

In  chap.  ix.  the  historian  says,  "  But 
it  would  exceed  all  power  of  detail  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  sufferings  and  tor- 
tures   which    the    martyrs    of   Thebais 


124 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


endured.  These,  instead  of  hooks,  had 
their  bodies  scraped  with  shells,  and 
were  mangled  in  this  way  until  they  died. 
Women  tied  by  one  foot  and  then  raised 
on  high  in  the  air  by  certain  machines, 
with  their  naked  bodies,  and  wholly  un- 
covered, presented  this  most  foul,  cruel, 
and  inhuman  spectacle  to  all  beholders  : 
others  again  perished,  bound  to  trees  and 
branches.  For,  drawing  the  stoutest  of 
the  branches  together  by  machines  for 
this  purpose,  and  binding  the  limbs  of 
the  martyrs  to  each  of  these,  they  then 
let  loose  the  boughs  to  resume  their  na- 
tural position,  designing  thus  to  produce 
a  violent  action,  to  tear  in  sunder  the 
limbs  of  those  whom  they  thus  treated. 
And  all  these  things  were  done,  not  for  a 
few  days  or  some  time,  but  for  a  series 
of  whole  years."  "We,  ourselves,  have 
observed,  when  on  the  spot,  many  crowd- 
ed together  in  one  day,  some  suffering 
decapitation,  some  the  torments  of  flames; 
so  that  the  murderous  weapon  was  com- 
pletely blunted,  and  having  lost  its  edge, 
broke  to  pieces ;  and  the  executioners 
themselves,  wearied  with  slaughter,  were 
obliged  to  relieve  one  another." 

And  in  ch.  x.  he  continues,  "  For  as 
every  one  had  the  liberty  to  abuse  them, 
some  beat  them  with  clubs,  some  with 
rods,  some  with  scourges,  others  again 
with  thongs,  others  with  ropes.  And  the 

siaht  of  these  torments  was  varied  and 
^  ...  .  ... 

multiplied, exhibitingexcessive  malignity. 

For  some  had  their  hands  tied  behind 
them,  and  were  suspended  on  the  rack, 
and  every  limb  was  stretched  with  ma- 
chines. Then  the  torturers,  according  to 
their  orders,  applied  the  pincers  to  the 
whole  body,  not  merely  as  in  the  case 
of  murderers,  to  the  sides,  but  also  to 
the  stomachs  and  knees  and  cheeks." 
Again,  in  ch.  xii.,  "  Some  had  their 
fingers  pierced  with  sharp  reeds  run 
under  the  nails.  Others  having  masses 
of  melted  lead,  bubbling  and  boiling  with 
heat,  poured  down  their  backs,  and  roast- 
ed especially  in  the  most  sensitive  parts 
of  the  body." 

Such  is  a  sample  of  the  methods  used 
by  Pagan  infidelity,  to  convert  men  back 
to  the  faith  of  idolatry  ;  such  the  means 
by  which  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 


sands were  released  from  sufferings,  and 
carried  to  the  bosom  of  their  God. 

In  conclusion,  1.  There  is  no  method 
of  gaining  the  victory,  and  the  crown, 
but  by  the  blood  of  our  victorious  Re- 
deemer. All  acceptable  prayer  must 
begin  at  the  altar :  and  there  is  no  rai- 
ment of  spotless  white,  but  that  furnish- 
ed gratuitously  from  the  wardrobe  of  our 
triumphant  King, — the  fine  linen  of  our 
Saviour's  righteousness,  imputed  to  us 
and  received  by  faith  alone. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  materialism  is 
false ;  for  the  souls  of  God's  redeemed 
exist  in  a  state  of  conscious  bliss,  whilst 
separate  from  the  body ;  and  we  have 
evidence  that  they  do  intercede  and  pray 
for  themselves  and  others.  But  this  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  pray  to  them. 
Praying  to  them,  implies  their  knowledge 
of  us  and  our  case, — their  omniscience  : 
"  There  is  one  Mediator."  The  angel- 
worship  of  modern  Rome,  is  simply  the 
demonology  of  Paganism. 

3.  The  doctrine  of  purgatory,  whether 
Pagan  or  Popish,  is  groundless.  These 
souls  were  not  in  a  place  of  punishment 
or  purification.  They  were  in  a  place 
of  unspeakable  felicity,  arrayed  in  beauty 
and  in  glory.  Secure  from  their  foes, 
they  prayed  for  their  downfall. 

It  is  the  privilege  therefore,  and  duty 
of  Christians,  to  pray  for  the  outpouring 
of  vengeance,  according  to  the  good  and 
holy  purposes  of  God.  "  Give  them 
blood  to  drink,  for  they  are  worthy." 

4.  The  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are 
worth  contending  for,  even  unto  death. 
So  thought  the  martyrs  under  Pagan 
Rome.  They  had  not  found  that  elastic 
conscience,  which  many  now  suppose  to 
be  such  a  great  discovery.  Bending  the 
knee,  kissing  the  hand,  would  have  saved 
the  life  of  the  body,  but  they  would 
neither  bend  the  knee,  nor  kiss  the  hand; 
for  in  so  doing  they  must  lose  the  life 
of  their  souls. 


LECTURE  XIV. 


125 


LECTURE  XIV. 

THE    SIXTH    SEAL. 

"  And  I  beheld  when  he  had  opened  the 
sixth  seal,  and  lo,  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake; and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth 
of  hair ;  and  the  moon  became  as  blood  ;  and 
the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth,  even  as 
a  figtree  casteth  her  untimely  figs  when  she  is 
shaken  of  a  mighty  wind.  And  the  heaven  de- 
parted as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together  ; 
and  every  mountain  and  island  were  moved 
out  of  their  places.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every 
bondman,  and  every  free  man,  hid  themselves 
in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains ; 
and  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb :  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come, 
and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand  ?" — Rev.  vii. 
12-17. 

"  Because  sentence  against  a  wicked 
work  is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore 
the  heart  of  the  children  of  men  is  fully 
set  in  them  to  do  evil."  They  forget 
that  "  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a 
thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years 
as  one  day."  They  shut  their  eyes, 
and  harden  their  hearts  against  the 
truth;  but  "though  hand  join  in  hand, 
the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished." 

The  same  mode  of  reasoning  often 
beguiles  even  the  wise  virgins.  They 
sometimes  slumber,  and  more  frequently 
become  impatient  and  discouraged,  when 
the  promised  blessing  of  the  covenant 
does  not  advance  to  meet  them  as 
promptly  as  their  fond  desires  antici- 
pate. They  are  ready  to  say,  "  Our 
Lord  delayeth  his  coming," — he  hath 
forgotten  to  be  gracious.  So,  if  prayer 
is  not  answered  in  matter,  form,  and 
time,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  pe- 
titioners, they  are  too  apt  to  conclude 
that  God's  ear  is  no  longer  open  to  their 
cry,  or  his  hand  is  shortened  that  it  can- 
not save. 

But  both  are  in  error.  For  every 
work  of  his  hand,  and  every  purpose  of 
his  heart,  God  has  a  time  and  a  season, 
and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure.  The 
prayer  of  his  own  believing  people  he 
will  hear,  and  the  veracity  of  his 
pledged  word  he  will  vindicate,  whether 
it  be  in  works  of  wrath  or  of  mercy. 


He  has  regarded  the  cries  of  his  bleed- 
ing church.  He  has  ministered  present 
comfort  to  the  souls  of  the  martyred 
saints,  and  has  bidden  them  rest  for  a 
little  season :  after  the  expiration  of 
which,  vengeance  just  and  due  should 
be  visited  upon  their  cruel  tormentors. 
This  period  now  draws  to  a  close,  and 
soon  must  the  retributions  of  righteous 
heaven  be  poured  out  upon  the  perse- 
cuting empire.  Just  as  the  persecution 
planned  by  Aurelian  was  about  to  burst 
forth,  it  was  arrested,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  his  bosom  friend's  assassinating  the 
emperor.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century 
after  this,  the  church  enjoyed  compara- 
tive rest,  and  during  this  time  we  have 
supposed  the  fifth  seal  to  have  been 
opened.  The  Dioclesian  persecution, 
the  last  and  bloodiest  of  all,  commenced 
in  A.  D.  303,  and  during  it,  the  "  fellow- 
servants"  of  the  martyrs,  mentioned  in 
verse  11,  were  slain.  At  the  close  of 
this  period  of  blood,  or  era  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, which  lasted  ten  years,  the  sixth 
seal  was  opened. 

Verse  12.  "And  I  beheld  when  he 
had  opened  the  sixth  seal,  and  lo,  there 
was  a  great  earthquake ;  and  the  sun 
became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and 
the  moon  became  as  blood." 

All  principles  of  interpretation  lead  us 
to  look  for  the  sixth  seal  in  its  regular 
order,  after  the  fifth  and  before  the 
seventh.  To  suppose  that  things  men- 
tioned in  numerical  order  do  not  so  oc- 
cur, is  to  impute  contradiction  to  the 
writing  where  it  is  found.  Matters  may 
indeed  be  so  mentioned,  as  to  time, 
which  are  not  so  in  other  respects. 
That  which  occupies  the  first  place  in 
regard  to  time,  may  be  the  last  in  im- 
portance. The  numerical  arrangement 
may  have  reference  to  the  beginning, 
and  not  to  the  termination  :  as  the  seal 
which  is  first  in  its  commencement  will 
be  the  last  in  its  completion.  The  vic- 
torious rider  of  the  white  horse  leads 
the  van,  but  he  will  also  bring  up  the 
rear,  and  enter  last  into  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem.  Still,  in  its  proper  sense, 
the  seals  numerically  follow  each  other. 

The  fifth  exhibited  a  fearful  pagan 
persecution  as  just  in  advance, — a  short 


126 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


period  from  the  date  of  the  seal.  We 
may  therefore  well  look  for  the  delayed 
vengeance  for  which  the  souls  under  the 
altar  prayed,  after  the  purpose  and  oc- 
casion of  the  delay  have  been  realized. 
Therefore  the  propriety  and  necessity  of 
applying  this  sixth  seal  to  that  wonder- 
ful revolution  of  the  Roman  empire  from 
paganism  to  Christianity. 

There  was  a  great  earthquake, — a 
great  shaking  or  concussion.  The  ori- 
ginal means  simply  a  shaking  :  its  ver- 
bal form  is  translated  in  v.  13,  shaken; 
and  in  Matt.  viii.  24,  it  is  used  to  signify 
a  violent  agitation  of  the  sea, — "  there 
arose  a  great  tempest  in  the  sea ;"  a 
mighty  concussion,  by  which  the  waters 
were  thrown  into  wild  confusion.  So 
here,  there  was  a  great  agitation,  a  fear- 
ful commotion.  The  particular  nature 
must  be  determined  by  the  nature  of  its 
subject.  A  glance  forward  teaches  us 
that  it  was  in  the  earth,  because  moun- 
tains and  islands  were  moved,  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  became  terrified  and 
hid  themselves.  The  translation,  earth- 
quake, is  therefore  correct  in  this  place, 
for  the  earth  is  the  subject  of  the  shak- 
ing. 

Let  us  first  examine  other  passages  of 
Scripture,  to  see  whether  such  language 
as  this  before  us  is  used  to  describe  and 
symbolize  great  revolutionary  changes. 

1.  In  Isaiah  ii.  we  have  an  account  of 
some  mighty  revolution  "in  the  last 
days,"  when  men  shall  enter  into  the 
rocks,  and  hide  in  the  dust : — "  the  idols 
he  shall  utterly  abolish,  and  they  shall 
go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into 
the  caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  power, 
when  he  ariseth  to  shake  terrible  the 
earth.  In  that  day  a  man  shall  cast 
his  idols  of  silver,  and  his  idols  of  gold, 
which  they  made,  each  one  for  himself 
to  worship,  to  the  moles  and  to  the 
bats."  (Verse  18.) 

Here  is  a  terrible  shaking  of  the  earth, 
by  which  must  be  meant  the  nation  as 
a  civil  government.  Yet  the  revolution 
concerns  mainly  the  religious  and  moral 
system.  The  people  are  turned  from 
idolatry  to  the  true  religion.  The  fear 
of  God  pervades  the  mass  of  society ; 


their  idols  are  demolished,  and  they  re- 
turn to  the  true  worship  of  God  :  the 
earth,  or  civil  administration,  must  ex- 
perience, therefore,  an  entire  revolution 
in  its  policy. 

2.  Similar  language  is  applied  to  the 
overthrow  of  Babylon,  in  Isaiah  xiii. 
For  nearly  twenty-five  centuries  this 
prophecy  has  become  history:  —  the 
rider  of  the  red  horse  passed  over  her 
high  walls,  and  through  her  brazen 
gates,  and  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldee's 
excellency  has  faded  away.  Our  chief 
concern  is  with  the  phraseology.  Verse 
10.  "For  the  stars  of  heaven  and  the 
constellations  thereof,  shall  not  give 
their  light :  the  sun  shall  be  darkened 
in  his  going  forth,  and  the  moon  shall 
not  cause  her  light  to  shine."  The 
stars  of  heaven  being  symbols  of  reli- 
gious teachers,  doubtless  allude  to  the 
utter  failure  of  her  priests  and  wise  men. 
Nor  are  we  to  be  surprised  at  the  inti- 
mate blending  of  the  figures  which  refer, 
most  naturally,  to  the  civil  empire,  with 
those  which  are  more  properly  under- 
stood of  the  religious  system  :  for  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  two  have 
always  been  united  in  fact,  and  never 
were  known  to  exist  separate  and  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  in  any  pagan 
country.  So,  in  verse  13,  "  Therefore 
I  will  shake  the  heavens," — the  reli- 
gious powers  shall  be  greatly  agitated, 
— "  and  the  earth  shall  remove  out  of 
her  place," — the  civil  government  shall 
be  entirely  overthrown. 

3.  In  chapter  xxiv.  the  prophet  de- 
scribes the  utter  destruction  of  Tyre,  in 
similar  phrase  :  "  The  windows  from  on 
high  are  open,  and  the  foundations  of 
the  earth  do  shake.  The  earth  is  utterly 
broken  down,  the  earth  is  clean  dis- 
solved, the  earth  is  moved  exceedingly. 
The  earth  shall  reel  to  and  fro  like  a 
drunkard,  and  shall  be  removed  like  a 
cottage."  (Verse  18.)  "Then  the 
moon  shall  be  confounded,  and  the  sun 
ashamed,  when  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall 
reign  in  Mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem, 
and  before  his  saints  gloriously."  (Verse 
23.)  Such  is  the  language  in  which 
God  represents  the  overthrow  of  his 
church's  foes. 


LECTURE  XIV. 


127 


4.  Very  similar  to  this,  is  the  mode 
of  expression  of  the  prophet  Haggai,  in 
reference  to  the  first  advent  of  Messiah, 
and  the  revolution  which  took  place. 
"  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  [  will 
shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  the  dry  land.  And  I  will 
shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire  of  all 
nations  shall  come,"  (i.  6,  7.)  This 
is  applied  in  Heb.  xii.  26,  27,  to  the 
change,  whereby  the  Jewish  ritual  and 
the  entire  system  of  peculiarities  esta- 
blished by  the  Sinai  covenant,  were  set 
aside,  and  the  order  of  New  Testament 
worship  introduced.  "  And  this  word, 
yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing 
of  those  things  that  are  shaken,  as  of 
things  that  are  made,  that  those  things 
which  cannot  be  shaken,  may  remain." 

A  little  farther  on,  the  prophet  adds, 
"  And  I  will  overthrow  the  throne  of 
kingdoms,  and  I  will  destroy  the  strength 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  heathen ;  and  I 
will  overthrow  the  chariots,  and  those 
that  ride  in  them  ;  and  the  horses  and 
their  riders  shall  come  down,  every  one 
by  the  sword  of  his  brethren,"  (verse 
22.)  We  shall  fully  see  that  such  is 
the  result  of  the  New  Testament  dispen- 
sation. 

5.  When  Isaiah  would  present  a  fear- 
ful conception  of  the  ruin  about  to  de- 
scend upon  Idumea,  he  says,  "  All  the 
host  of  heaven  shall  be  dissolved,  and 
the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together  as  a 
scroll ;  and  all  their  host  shall  fall  down, 
as  the  leaf  falleth  off  from  the  vine,  and 
as  a  falling  fig  from  the  fig-tree,"  (xxxiv. 
4.)  The  context  here  evinces  that  the 
desolation  of  Edom  is  the  thing  meant. 

6.  When  Ezekiel  portrays  the  great 
havoc  made  in  Egypt,  by  the  Babylo- 
nian armies,  it  is  in  like  terms.  "  And 
when  I  shall  put  thee  out,  I  will  cover 
the  heaven,  and  make  the  stars  thereof 

'dark  ;  I  will  cover  the  sun  with  a  cloud, 
and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light. 
All  the  bright  lights  of  heaven  will  I 
make  dark  over  thee,  and  set  darkness 
upon  thy  land,  saith  the  Lord  God," 
(xxxii.  7.)  In  verses  11  and  12,  we 
have  an  exposition  of  these  strong 
figures.  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
The  sword  of  the  king  of  Babylon  shall 


come  upon  thee  :  by  the  sword  of  the 
mighty  will  I  cause  thy  multitude  to  fall, 
the  terrible  of  the  nations,  all  of  them  ; 
and  they  shall  spoil  the  pomp  of  Egypt, 
and  all  the  multitude  thereof  shall  be 
destroyed."  These  prophecies  were  ful- 
filled in  the  invasions  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar and  Cambyses,  whose  dark  clouds 
extinguished  the  glory  of  Pharaoh's 
throne. 

7.  In  the  same  manner  the  people  of 
Samaria,  as  described  by  Hosea,  (x.  8,) 
in  their  terror  and  consternation,  are 
represented  as  calling  to  the  mountains, 
"  Cover  us,  and  to  the  hills,  Fall  on  us." 

8.  The  last  case  that  we  shall  quote  is 
the  memorable  prophecy  of  Joel.  "  The 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and 
the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great 
and  the  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come," 
(ii.  28.)  This  is  applied  in  Matt.  xxiv. 
to  the  great  revolution  in  the  church, 
from  the  Mosaic  ceremonies  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  gospel  worship. 

Such  are  some  examples  of  the  strong 
and  highly  figurative  expressions  of  the 
Old  Testament,  when  any  overturning, 
either  civil  or  religious,  or  both,  occurs 
in  the  affairs  of  a  people.  These  are 
the  prototypes  of  the  context  before  us  ; 
they  are  every  one  borrowed  from  the 
prophets,  and  we  are  obliged  to  under- 
stand them  in  the  same  general  sense  in 
which  they  used  them. 

It  will  be  seen  that  we  do  not  profess 
to  limit  this  phraseology  to  the  times  of 
the  sixth  seal.  On  the  contrary,  it  must 
be  manifest  from  the  foregoing,  that  the 
same  symbols  may  be  applied  to  various 
revolutions,  past  and  future.  Undoubt- 
edly it  is  used  to  describe  the  awful 
grandeur  and  terribleness  of  Christ's 
second  advent,  at  the  end  of  the  world. 
Our  position  is,  that  this  language  is 
designed  to  exhibit  the  revolution  in  the 
Roman  empire,  from  its  pagan  and  per- 
secuting character,  to  its  Christian  form. 

Let  it  then  be  our  next  task  to  point 
out  the  historical  facts  which  constitute 
the  antitype  of  the  prophetic  seal. 

In  A.  D.  312,  Constantine  the  Great, 
the  founder  of  the  city  of  Constantinople, 
was  emperor  in  Gaul.  He  had  been 
proclaimed    by    the   army,  A.  D.   306, 


128 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


upon  the  demise  of  his  father,  Constan- 
tius  Chlorus,  who  flied  at  York  in  Bri- 
tain, on  the  twenty-fifth  of  July,  (Univ. 
Hist.  xiv.  p.  77.)  At  the  same  time, 
Maxentius  was  emperor  in  Italy,  and 
had  reduced  Africa  under  his  dominion. 
Maximin  was  master  of  all  that  part  of 
the  empire,  which  lay  beyond  the  Thra- 
cian  Bosphorus.  Licinius,  as  Csesar, 
held  Thrace  and  Illyricum.  In  the  year 
A.  D.  305,  Maximian,  the  father  of 
Maxentius,  and  father-in-law  of  Con- 
stantine,  had,  together  with  Diocletian, 
abdicated  the  purple.  But  not  enjoying 
himself  in  retirement  as  fully  as  he  ex- 
pected, he  attempted  to  usurp  the  impe- 
rial dignity,  first  from  his  son  Maxen- 
tius, in  Italy,  and  afterwards  from  his 
son-in-law,  Constantine,  in  Gaul.  He 
had  also,  in  this  attempt,  endeavoured 
to  assassinate  Constantine,  who,  sus- 
picious of  his  design,  had  placed  a  ser- 
vant in  his  own  bed,  whom  Maximian 
actually  killed,  under  the  supposition 
that  he  was  his  son-in-law.  Constantine 
having  thus  indubitable  evidence  of  the 
disposition  which  his  father-in-law  che- 
rished toward  him,  by  way  of  returning 
the  compliment,  put  him  to  death. 

Meanwhile  Maxentius,  flushed  with  his 
African  conquests,  conceived  the  idea  of 
cutting  off  the  other  three  emperors,  that 
he  might  enjoy  the  glory  of  a  solitary 
throne,  and  of  a  sceptre  extending  over 
the  whole  Roman  world.  He  levied 
great  armies  in  Italy,  and  the  provinces. 
Upon  hearing  it,  Constantine  wrote  to 
him,  dissuading  him  from  the  attempt. 
He  persisted  :  Constantine  determined 
to  anticipate  him,  passed  the  Alps  on 
the  Mount  Cenis  road,  and  advanced 
upon  Rome.  His  mind  was  greatly 
agitated ;  and  he  vacillated  much  in 
regard  to  the  deity  to  whose  auspices 
he  should  commend  his  campaign  ;  for 
the  custom  was  universal  among  the 
ancient  pagans,  of  selecting  some  one 
of  their  gods,  as  the  special  patron  of 
each  enterprise  and  warlike  movement. 
In  regard  to  the  same  battle,  his  rival, 
Maxentius,  when  aroused  to  a  sense 
of  his  danger,  consulted  the  Sibylline 
oracle,  which  gave  this  reply :  on  "  that 
day   the   enemy   of   the  Romans   will 


perish," — which,  of  course,  they  would 
construe  in  application  to  the  vanquished, 
whoever  he  might  be.  (See  Gibbon's 
Decline  and  Fall,  chap,  xiv.) 

The  reason,  probably,  of  Constantine's 
hesitancy  on  this  occasion  was,  that  a 
large  portion, — perhaps  a  majority  of 
his  army,  and  the  best  of  it — was  com- 
posed of  Christians.  This,  and  the  fact 
that  his  father  Constantius  had  a  decided 
leaning  towards  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians, and  paid  great  respect  to  their 
religion,  though  there  is  no  satisfactory 
evidence  that  he  was  truly  a  Christian 
himself,  produced  a  divided  heart :  and 
during  his  state  of  mental  indecision,  he 
is  said  to  have  seen  the  celebrated  vision 
of  the  golden  cross.  "  Some  God  he 
thought  needful  to  protect  him.  The 
God  of  the  Christians  he  was  most  in- 
clined to  respect ;  but  he  wanted  some 
satisfactory  proof  of  his  real  existence 
and  power,  and  he  neither  understood 
the  means  of  acquiring  this,  nor  could 
he  be  content  with  the  atheistic  indiffer- 
ence in  which  so  many  generals  and  he- 
roes have  since  acquiesced.  He  prayed, 
he  implored  with  much  vehemence  and 
importunity:  and  God  left  him  not  un- 
answered. While  he  was  marching 
with  his  forces,  in  the  afternoon,  the 
trophy  of  the  cross  appeared  very 
luminous  in  the  heavens,  higher  than 
the  sun,  with  this  inscription,  '  Conquer 
by  this.'  He  and  his  soldiers  were  as- 
tonished at  the  sight.  But  he  continued 
pondering  on  the  event  till  night.  And 
Christ  appeared  to  him  when  asleep, 
with  the  same  sign  of  the  cross,  and 
directed  him  to  make  use  of  the  symbol 
as  his  military  ensign.  Constantine 
obeyed,  and  the  cross  was  henceforward 
displayed  in  his  armies."  This  state- 
ment is  taken  from  Milner,  (ii.  p.  54,) 
which  he  condensed  from  Eusebius,  who 
afterwards  instructed  Constantine  more 
fully  in  Christian  doctrine,  and  baptized 
him ;  and  who  affirms  that  he  received 
this  account  from  the  emperor  himself, 
under  oath.  Very  many  refuse  to  credit 
this  story  :  but  it  appears  more  reason- 
able to  believe,  than  to  reject  the  whole. 
That  God  should  interpose  at  this  fearful 
juncture  by  some  extraordinary  display 


LECTURE  XIV. 


129 


of  his  power  is  extremely  probable. 
Maxentius  was  a  bloody  tyrant,  and  put 
the  issue  of  this  battle  expressly  on  the 
power  of  his  gods,  and  in  opposition  to 
the  God  of  the  Christians. 

Besides,  that  Constantine  should  dream 
on  such  an  occasion,  and  just  such  a 
dream  as  he  reported,  is  also  extremely 
natural.  The  chief  or  only  point  of  diffi- 
culty, regards  the  day  vision,  and  the 
silence  of  other  contemporary  historians 
and  of  the  army.  If  the  whole  army  saw 
it,  why  does  its  validity  rest  solely  on  the 
declaration  of  the  emperor  to  Eusebius  ! 
On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  is  undoubted 
that  Constantine  did  make  the  cross  his 
ensign  ;  and  he  did  act  consistently  with 
the  whole  statement.  It  is  therefore  un- 
reasonable to  reject  the  whole  story ; 
for  we  cannot  then  satisfactorily  account 
for  unquestionable  facts. 

But  to  delay  no  farther  :  Maxentius, 
contrary  to  the  expectation  of  Constan- 
tine and  sound  policy,  marched  to  meet 
him  ;  and  the  Gallic  army  was  rejoiced 
to  find  the  Pretorian  cohorts  and  their 
emperor  with  other  troops  drawn  up  in 
battle  array,  at  the  Saxa  Rubra,  nine 
miles  from  Rome.  There,  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  October,  312,  the  Pre- 
torian cohorts  fought  their  last  battle  ; 
and  most  of  them  were  slain  in  the  very 
lines  they  occupied.  Those  legions, 
which  so  long  had  ruled  the  senate,  the 
people,  and  the  emperors,  fell  never  to 
rise  again,  on  the  same  field  where  the 
cross  first  rose,  never  to  fall.  Maxen- 
tius endeavoured  to  escape  by  the  Mil- 
vian  bridge,  according  to  Gibbon,  (the 
Universal  History  says  that  it  was  on  a 
bridge  of  boats ;)  but  was  crowded  off 
into  the  Tiber,  and  sank  deep  in  the 
water.  His  body  was  found  next  day, 
and  his  head  was  carried  through  the 
city  elevated  upon  a  pole.  His  death 
was  a  cause  of  great  rejoicing  to  the 
Roman  people.  (See  Universal  History, 
xiv.  94.) 

A  few  days  after  this,  Constantine 
published  an  edict  prohibiting  the  de- 
struction of  the  Christians.  Thus  ended 
the  Dioclesian  persecution  in  the  west, 
after  ten  years  of  dreadful  suffering. 
The  senate  voted  to  Constantine  all  pos- 

17 


sible  honours,  and  erected  a  triumphal 
arch  to  commemorate  his  victory,  which 
does  its  duty  to  this  day  ;  witnessing 
still  to  every  beholder,  the  conquests  of 
the  Christian's  friend,  and  evidently 
alluding  to  his  supernatural  direction ; 
for  it  says,  "  that  by  a  divine  instinct,  and 
with  extraordinary  courage,  he  delivered 
the  republic  from  the  tyrant  and  his 
whole  faction." 

We  have  here  the  first  heaving  of 
this  terrible  earthquake — a  heaving  that 
was  felt  in  the  extremest  verge  of  the 
Roman  world.  But  the  genius  of  Ro- 
mulus had  fled.  The  spirit  of  Numa 
Pompilius  was  no  more.  No  Cincinna- 
tus  ploughed  the  furrowed  fields  of 
beautiful  Italy.  No  Fabius  led  her 
armies.  The  venal  senate  which  to- 
day placed  the  vilest  of  wretches  among 
the  gods,  to-morrow,  when  the  masters 
had  changed,  hurled  him  down  with 
curses  on  his  head,  to  Tartarus.  The 
miserable  rabble,  who  with  three  mil- 
lions of  tongues,*  sang  pasans  of  adula- 
tion to  a  tyrant  in  the  morning,  shouted 
with  ecstacy  at  his  destruction  before  the 
setting  of  the  sun. 

Equally  incompetent  were  the  debased 
populace  and  the  degenerate  senate  to 
estimate  moral  worth,  and  to  stand  up 
for  their  rights.  Constantine  had  scarce 
left  the  city,  when  dissatisfaction  dis- 
played itself,  because  of  his  clemency 
towards  the  Christians :  and  Rome  was 
never  afterwards  honoured  with  his 
presence. 

In  the  month  of  March  following 
were  celebrated,  at  Milan,  the  nuptials 
of  Constantia,  the  emperor's  sister,  and 
Licinius,  his  junior  colleague.  This 
gave  great  offence  to  Maximin,  the  re- 
maining colleague:  as  it  seemed  to  com- 
bine three  fourths  of  the  power  into  one 
interest.  The  Eastern  Emperor  had 
continued  to  carry  out  the  edict  of  Dio- 
clesian, with  great  severity  against  the 
Christians.  His  jealousy  induced  him 
to  make  a  sudden  rush  upon  Licinius ; 
hoping  to  vanquish  him  before  he  could 
have  time  to  call  in  aid  from  Constantine, 
who  had  passed  the  Alps  into  Gaul,  to 
quell  an  insurrection  there.  Maximin 
advanced   upon  Thrace  and  Illyricum, 


130 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


by  forced  marches.  Licinius  slumbered 
not  in  the  lap  of  his  Delilah.  He  met 
the  fierce  and  bloodthirsty  persecutor 
of  the  Christian  church,  and  though  his 
army  fell  short  of  half  that  of  his  foe, 
he  routed  him  so  completely,  and  so 
terribly,  that  in  twenty-four  hours  from 
the  time  when  the  tide  of  battle  turned, 
Maximin  entered  his  palace  at  Nico- 
media,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  from  the  field  of  his  defeat. 
But  heaven's  vengeance  was  at  his  heels  : 
he  had  shed  much  Christian  blood,  and 
God  had  doomed  his  to  be  spilt.  Licinius 
pursued,  and  put  him  to  death,  with  all 
his  family.  Valeria,  also,  the  daughter 
of  Dioclesian,  and  widow  of  Galerius, 
another  persecuting  emperor,  with  her 
mother,  was  taken  and  publicly  executed, 
and  their  dead  bodies  thrown  into  the 
sea.  "  Thus,"  says  the  Universal  His- 
tory, (xiv.  110,)  "  were  the  families  of 
Dioclesian,  Galerius,  and  Maximin,  en- 
tirely cut  off  and  exterminated."  The 
persecutors  who  took  the  sword,  pe- 
rished by  the  sword  ;  and  the  Roman 
earth  experienced  another  swell  of  the 
earthquake. 

A  third  shock  occurred  the  next  year, 
314,  upon  the  occasion  of  Constantine's 
bestowing  another  sister  upon  one  Bas- 
sianus,  with  a  promise  of  sharing  the 
empire.  This  promise  being  somewhat 
delayed,  and  Licinius  being  jealous  of 
Constantine,  he  entered  into  an  intrigue 
with  Bassianus,  to  induce  him  to  assert 
his  right,  and  compel  the  emperor  to 
redeem  his  promise.  This  resulted  in 
a  civil  war  between  the  two  brothers-in- 
law.  Licinius  was  worsted  in  two  se- 
vere battles,  and  was  content  to  make 
peace,  which  lasted  eight  years.  This 
period  was  employed  by  Constantine 
in  regulating  and  settling  the  affairs  of 
his  government,  and  enacting  several 
laws  favourable  to  the  Christians :  among 
which  was  one  passed  in  March,  321, 
forbidding  all  secular  employments  on 
the  sabbath  day.  (Univ.  Hist.  xiv.  106.) 
He  also  had  occasion  to  conduct  several 
military  expeditions  against  the  Goths 
and  Sarmatians,  in  which  he  carried  his 
victories  beyond  the  Danube.  Gibbon, 
ever  the  apologist  of  the  persecutor,  and 


the  perverter  of  historical  facts,  when- 
ever it  can  be  done  to  the  prejudice  of 
Christianity,  without  too  barefaced  par- 
tiality, admits,  with  evident  reluctance, 
the  criminality  of  Licinius,  in  interrupt- 
ing this  peace. 

In  A.  D.  323,  Constantine,  pursuing 
the  fugitives  of  a  Gothic  army  which 
he  had  routed  in  battle,  had  occasion  to 
pass  a  short  distance  beyond  his  own 
boundaries,  as  settled  in  the  treaty  with 
Licinius.  The  latter,  who  had  long 
envied  the  prosperity  and  success  of 
Constantine,  especially  in  establishing 
the  empire  upon  a  pacific  Christian 
basis,  seized  this  as  a  pretext  to  break 
with  him.  The  former  immediately 
endeavoured  to  appease  him  by  reason 
and  remonstrance ;  but  Licinius  was 
bent  on  war.  Constantine's  army  was 
almost  entirely  composed  of  Christian 
soldiers, — his  rival's  as  exclusively  pa- 
gan. No  battle  had  ever  yet  been 
fought  where  there  was  such  a  distinc- 
tion of  forces.  Licinius,  to  induce  the 
pagans  to  join  his  army,  had  renewed 
the  persecutions  of  the  Christians,  with 
great  violence.  (Mosheim,  i.  254.)  His 
calculation  proved  correct :  the  pagans 
flocked  to  his  standard  in  vast  multi- 
tudes, so  that  he  outnumbered  his  rival 
greatly,  both  by  sea  and  land.  The 
fourth  great  shock  of  the  earthquake 
occurred  on  the  third  of  July,  A.  D. 
323.  It  was  a  fiercely  contested  battle, 
but  through  the  incredible  and  daring 
bravery  of  Constantine,  it  was  soon 
decided  in  favour  of  the  Christian  army. 
He,  accompanied  by  only  twelve  horse- 
men, first  plunged  into  the  river  Hebrus, 
whose  opposite  bank  was  lined  with 
barbarians,  fierce,  stern,  and  determined 
to  prevent  his  gaining  the  shore.  Emu- 
lating the  perilous  example  of  their 
leader,  the  army  followed.  One  short 
hour, — and  thirty-three  thousand  of  the 
pagan  host  lay  dead  on  the  plain :  the 
rest  fled.  They  rallied  at  the  Straits  of 
Gallipolis,  and  were  again  routed  by 
Crispus,  the  son  of  Constantine.  Then 
followed  a  treaty,  which  Licinius  imme- 
diately violated  ;  for  with  incredible 
celerity  he  levied  another  army,  and 
attacked  Constanine  at  Chalcedon,  the 


LECTURE  XIV. 


131 


site  of  the  present  town  of  Scutari, 
nearly  opposite  Constantinople.  This 
was  his  last  and  most  desperate  conflict. 
It  occurred  on  the  eighteenth  of  Sep- 
tember, 323,  and  resulted  in  the  total 
slaughter  of  Licinius's  army.  He  fled 
to  Nicomedia,  where  he  was  soon  be- 
sieged, and  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of 
his  wife,  Constantine's  sister,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  emperor's  presence,  ob- 
tained pardon  and  his  life  on  promise  of 
submission  and  quietness.  He  was  sent 
into  Thessaly,  and  afterwards  engaging 
in  treasonable  correspondence  with  the 
barbarians,  he  was  executed  by  the  em- 
peror's orders. 

Immediately  after  the  final  victory  of 
Chalcedon,  and  the  captivity  of  Licinius, 
Constantine,  now  sole  master  of  the  Ro- 
man world,  extended  the  same  clemency 
over  the  east,  which  the  west  had  en- 
joyed ever  since  the  battle  at  the  Red 
Rocks.  To  perpetuate  his  name,  and 
the  glory  of  his  success,  he  traced  on 
the  opposite  shore  the  lines  of  a  new 
city,  henceforth  to  be  the  imperial  resi- 
dence :  and  there  stands  Constantinople, 
the  monument  of  Christian  triumph,  and 
of  the  civil  degradation  of  the  seven- 
hilled  city — (for  Constantine  never  re- 
turned, even  to  visit  Rome) — the  living 
witness  of  the  degeneracy  of  Christian 
governments — destined,  at  a  future  day, 
with  Rome  to  sink,  so  far  as  she  is  a 
source  of  religious  fanaticism  and  tyran- 
ny, in  the  chasm  of  some  fearful  earth- 
quake,— and  destined,  too,  to  reappear, 
under  the  banner  of  some  future  Con- 
stantine, arrayed  in  the  beauty  and  sim- 
plicity of  Christian  dominion,  when  the 
saints  shall  possess  the  earth. 

Thus  passed  away  for  ever,  the  power 
of  persecution  from  heathen  Rome.  Thus 
perished  the  principalities  of  paganism. 
Thus  was  smitten  the  giant  image  before 
the  kingdom  of  the  little  stone.  "  Thus 
did  the  religion  of  Jesus," — to  borrow 
the  language  of  the  American  Paul, — 
"  thus  did  the  religion  of  Jesus  make 
her  way  through  the  world — against  the 
superstition  of  the  multitude ;  against 
the  interest  and  craft  of  the  priesthood  ; 
against  the  ridicule  of  wits,  the  reason- 
ing of  sages,  the  policy  of  cabinets,  and 


the  prowess  of  armies ;  against  the  axe, 
the  cross  and  the  stake,  she  extended  her 
conquests  from  Jordan  to  the  Thames. 
She  gathered  her  laurels  alike  upon  the 
snows  of  Scythia,  the  green  fields  of 
Europe,  and  the  sands  of  Africa.  The 
altars  of  impiety  crumbled  before  her 
march — the  glimmer  of  the  schools  dis- 
appeared in  her  light.  Power  felt  his 
arm  wither  at  her  glance ;  and  in  a 
short  time,  she  who  went  forlorn  and 
insulted  from  the  hill  of  Calvary  to  the 
tomb  of  Joseph,  ascended  the  imperial 
throne,  and  waved  her  banner  over  the 
palace  of  the  Csesars.  Her  victories 
were  not  less  benign  than  decisive. 
They  were  victories  over  all  that  pol- 
lutes, degrades,  and  ruins  man;  in  be- 
half of  all  that  purifies,  exalts,  and  saves 
him.  They  subdued  his  understanding 
to  truth,  his  habits  to  rectitude,  his  heart 
to  happiness."  (Mason's  Works,  i.  266, 
267.) 

Thus  did  the  God  of  the  Christian 
spread  over  the  face  of  the  sun  of  pagan 
superstition, — the  ruler  of  the  Roman 
world, — the  blackness  of  darkness  for 
ever.  Thus  the  baleful  gleam  of  her 
pale  moon  has  gone  out  in  blood.  Thus 
her  lesser  lights  have  hurried  away  be- 
fore the  looming  brilliancy  of  the  star 
of  Bethlehem, — or  have  fallen  from  their 
zenith,  "  as  fall  untimely  figs  from  the 
fig-tree,  when  it  is  shaken  of  a  mighty 
wind."  Thus  departed  her  entire  hea- 
ven, with  all  its  host,  as  a  scroll  that  is 
rolled  together.  Thus,  from  the  hills  of 
Caledonia  to  the  mountains  of  Armenia, 
— from  the  frozen  world  beyond  the  Da- 
nube, to  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile, — the 
Christian  standard  floated  in  triumph. 
The  religion  of  Calvary,  and  of  the 
cross,  was  henceforward  the  religion  of 
the  empire. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  evincing 
the  happy  adaptation  of  the  grand,  lead- 
ing symbols,  to  express  the  prophetic 
and  the  postscript  history,  we  can  have 
no  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  expression 
that  remains.  If  the  departure  of  the 
heavens,  like  a  scroll  that  is  rolled  to- 
gether, represents  the  evanishment  of 
the  pagan  religious  system  :  the  removal 
of  mountains  and  islands  is  descriptive 


132 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


of  the  upturning  of  the  strongholds  of 
pagan  worship,  and  the  extension  of  this 
revolution  to  the  provinces  also. 

Verses  15,  16,  and  17,  exhibit  the 
efforts  of  the  emperors,  princes,  officers, 
and  all  description  of  people  allied  to 
the  pagan  interests,  to  save  themselves. 
"  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the 
great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and 
every  bond  man,  and  every  free  man, 
hid  themselves  in  the  dens,  and  the  rocks 
of  the  mountains  ;  and  said  to  the  moun- 
tains and  the  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide 
us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb ;  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath 
is  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand  ?" 

Such  has  been,  in  all  ages,  the  con- 
duct of  men  driven  to  despair.  History 
abounds  in  examples  of  even  self-de- 
struction, from  Saul,  on  Mount  Gilboa, 
to  the  record  of  the  suicide  of  yesterday. 
Every  great  revolution  leaves  the  lead- 
ers and  warm  partisans  of  the  weaker 
side,  in  a  most  unhappy  condition. 
Flight  was  unavailing  in  such  a  vast 
empire  as  that  of  "Rome ;  for  there  was 
no  passing  over  the  limits  of  its  power : 
so  that  after  such  disaster  as  befell  Lici- 
nius  and  his  generals,  there  was  no 
safety  but  in  insignificance.  All  the 
mighty,  and  the  servants  of  the  mighty, 
and  the  rich  who  sold  their  wealth  to  aid 
the  vanquished,  were  doomed  to  death. 

The  better  to  understand  this,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  know,  that  the  custom  was 
exceedingly  common  in  that  age,  for  the 
successful  rival  to  exterminate  every 
vestige  of  the  family-blood  of  the  con- 
quered. 

So  did  Licinius  to  Maximin :  his 
children  under  eight  years  he  slew ; 
for  they  had  the  blood  of  an  emperor 
flowing  in  their  veins.  When  such  a 
spirit  pervaded  the  age,  and  constituted 
its  well  known  characteristic,  we  can 
easily  imagine  how  fearful  must  have 
been  the  consequences  of  defeat. 

From  verse  16,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
see  that  the  vanquished  and  now  ago- 
nized fugitives  from  the  vengeance  of 
justice  recognised  the  power  of  the  Re- 
deemer in  their  overthrow.    Well  did  all 


the  great  men  in  the  Roman  world  know 
that  eleven  years  before  this  Constantine 
was  decidedly  the  friend  oT  Christianity. 
Perfectly  was  it  understood,  that  this 
war  of  Licinius  was  a  war  against  the 
religion  of  the  cross,  and  that,  had  he 
succeeded,  Nero,  Domitian,  Dioclesian 
and  Maximin  would  have  become  compa- 
rative, like  the  poet's  "  good  Aurelius," 
amiable,  and  tender  of  Christian  privi- 
leges :  and  the  Licinian  persecution  alone 
would,  in  future,  have  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  the  church  and  of  mankind.  The 
enemies  of  Constantine  themselves  placed 
the  war  upon  this  foundation.  Their  cry, 
like  that  of  the  modern  philosopher,  was 
ever,  "  Crush  the  wretch  !" — "  Away 
with  the  Nazarene !"  Hence  their  de- 
spairing exclamation,  "  Hide  us  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb !" 

A  single  observation,  with  a  few  illus- 
trations of  it,  must  close  this  lecture. 
The  observation  is,  that  the  triumph  of 
Christianity  over  paganism  is  an  evi- 
dence of  its  own  divine  origin. 

Rightly  to  appreciate  this,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  glance  at  the  array  of  op- 
position ;  then  at  the  agency  and  means 
which  were  employed  to  overcome  that 
opposition ;  and  then  again  at  the  Gos- 
pel's triumphant  success. 

Opposed  to  the  religion  of  Jesus,  was, 

1.  The  vast  system  of  the  Jewish 
ritual.  It  had  stood,  the  admiration  of 
the  Israelitish  people,  for  fifteen  centu- 
ries. Its  very  antiquity,  apart  from  all 
the  peculiar  force  of  its  sacredness,  gave 
it  immense  power.  But  when  we  add 
the  sanctity  of  religion,  the  solemnity  of 
its  visible  forms,  and  the  growing  pre- 
judices of  so  many  ages,  to  the  venera- 
tion which  antiquity  alone  demands  :  we 
can  perceive  that  a  system  which  should 
spring  up  before  it,  and  lay  the  Hebrew 
lawgiver  in  the  dust,  must  come  with  a 
power  little  short  of  omnipotence. 

2.  The  religious  systems  of  the  whole 
world  were  against  it.  We  use  the 
plural, — systems :  because  it  is  matter 
of  historical  verity,  that  whatever  diver- 
sities in  the  forms  of  their  divinities,  and 
the  modes  of  their  worship  might  exist 
in  the  various  heathen  countries,  they 
were  one,  so  far  as  opposition  to  Chris- 


LECTURE  XIV. 


133 


tianity  was  concerned.  The  Roman  Em- 
peror was  the  high  priest  of  the  Roman 
religion.  All  the  hierarchies  of  the  world 
were  hostile  to  Christ.  With  them,  the 
cross  waged  a  war  of  extermination. 
Not  one  of  them  could  Christianity  ac- 
knowledge as  a  religion.  With  all  its 
professions  of  charity,  it  allowed  no  ac- 
commodation to  Pagan  prejudice ;  and, 
for  this  reason,  it  was  so  excessively 
hated  of  all. 

3.  A  vast  body  of  priests  and  depend- 
ants on  the  Pagan  altar,  were  its  deter- 
mined foes.  Tens  of  thousands,  wholly 
devoted  to  them,  and  wholly  supported 
by  them,  were  ready  to  vindicate  with 
their  lives  the  religion  of  their  gods. 
What  hordes  of  heathen  priests  had  the 
Gospel  to  contend  with  ! 

4.  The  dependants  upon  the  altar,  not 
priests,  were  still  more  numerous.  Every 
description  of  trade  or  craft  had  directly 
or  indirectly  some  gain  by  it.  An  ex- 
ample we  have,  in  the  case  of  the  silver- 
smiths of  Ephesus. 

5.  Contemplate  the  monied  power.  To 
what  do  we  turn  our  eyes,  when  we  in- 
quire for  the  heaviest  investments  of 
capital  ?  Is  it  not  to  the  temples  of  the 
gods?  Witness  the  Pantheon  at  Rome, 
the  Parthenon, — which,  in  sublime  gran- 
deur, looks  down  from  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens,  to  this  day  the  unrivalled  per- 
fection of  architectural  beauty, — the  Tem- 
ple of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  and  a  thousand 
others.  On  these,  Genius  had  expended 
his  talents ;  for  these,  Mammon  had 
hoarded  his  treasures;  by  these,  Pericles 
and  Phidias,  Augustus  and  Adrian,  and 
even  Dioclesian,  are  immortalized. 

6.  The  literature  and  the  philosophy 
of  the  world  were  equally  stern  in  their 
opposition.  "What  will  this  babbler  say?" 
was  a  compound  of  the  opinion  of  the 
learned,  in  regard  to  the  new  religion. 

7.  The  civil  tribunals  of  the  world, 
and  the  laws  of  the  empire,  which  they 
were  bound  to  enforce,  made  Christianity 
a  capital  offence. 

8.  The  military  prowess  of  Imperial 
Rome — her  countless  legions — her  vast 
fleets — her  consummate  generals  :  how 
fearful  a  host  this  !  And  when  combined 
with  all  the  preceding,  into  one  complete, 


well-digested,  and  arranged  system  of 
opposition,  what  must  be  the  strength 
that  can  resist  and  overturn  this  whole 
stupendous  fabric?  Where  is  the  force 
that  can  do  it  ?  Who  will  enter  the  lists 
against  such  a  foe? 

Turn  we  now  to  the  twelve  fishermen 
of  Galilee.  What!  these  the  instruments! 
these  pupils  of  a  crucified  malefactor  as- 
sault the  united  powers  of  earth's  great- 
est empire  !    These  poor  illiterate  Jews  ! 
— Yes, — such  are  the  men  destined  to 
revolutionize  the  globe ;   to  hurl   down 
the  gigantic  systems  of  twenty-five  cen- 
turies ;  to  pour  contempt  upon  the  gods 
of  the  whole  world,  whose  worship  is 
sustained  by  the  laws,  the  learning,  the 
wealth,  the  military  powers  of  the  Eternal 
City  ;  to  pile  Pelion  upon  Ossa,  and  de- 
throne Jupiter  ;  to  wrest  the  thunderbolts 
of  war  from   the  hand   of   Mars,   and 
show  the  nations   the  weakness  of  his 
arm,  and  the  contemptibility  of  his  idols; 
to  stultify  all  the  philosophers  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  Egypt  and  Chaldsea;  to  teach 
and  enforce  a  spotless  morality,  founded 
in  a  pure  religion ;  to  establish  a  repre- 
sentative government,  the  application  of 
whose  principles  to  the  civil  administra- 
tion of  nations,  is  destined  to  upturn  all 
the  thrones  of  tyranny,  and  found,  upon 
the  basis  of  imperishable  truth,  the  free- 
dom of  the  entire  human  race ;  to  tear 
down  every  column  of  every  heathen 
temple,   and   eject   from   the    Pantheon 
itself  Rome's  thirty  thousand  gods ;  to 
cause  the  millions  of  Asia,  Africa  and 
Europe,  to  bow  down  at  the  shrine  of  a 
new  divinity ;  to  dip  the  imperial  purple 
in  the  blood  of  Calvary,  and  wave  the 
banner  of  peace  over  the  home  of  the 
Csesars !    This   is   the  work, — and   the 
fishermen  of  Galilee  are  its  agents  !  Are 
they  equal  to  the  mighty  task  ?    Let  a 
disenthralled  world  reply ! 

But  what  achieved  this  bloodless, — 
this  glorious  victory?  What,  but  the  om- 
nipotence  of  truth  ?  Destroy  this  omni- 
potence, and  we  have  an  effect  without 
a  cause, — a  stupendous  miracle,  without 
a  power  to  produce  it.  Can  the  credulity 
of  infidelity  itself  believe  this?  There- 
fore, we  conclude  that  the  Christian  reli- 
gion had  its  origin  on  high ! 


134 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


LECTURE  XV. 

THE  SEQUEL  OF  THE  SIXTH  SEAL. 
Rev.  chap.  vii. 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed 
of  the  church.  This  proverb  contains 
an  important  truth.  It  is  an  historical 
fact,  that  the  heroic  endurance  of  pain, 
contumely,  and  death,  operated  as  a  pow- 
erful influence  in  arresting  the  attention  of 
men,  to  the  lives,  characters,  and  princi- 
ples of  those  who  thus  endured.  Often 
the  instruments  of  executing  an  oppres- 
sive edict  became  convinced  of  its  ini- 
quity :  the  slaughter  weapon  dropped 
from  their  hands,  and  they  surrendered 
themselves  victims  of  the  rage  which 
they  were  expending  upon  others. 

It  will  scarcely  be  pretended,  that  the 
sufferings  of  Christian  martyrs  consti- 
tuted an  object  of  desire,  and  that  for 
the  sake  of  enduring  the  like,  Pagan  exe- 
cutioners became  confessors,  and  thus 
exposed  themselves  to  death.  And  yet, 
a  modern  Marcus  Aurelius  seems  in- 
clined to  maintain  the  absurdity,  in  order 
to  devise  a  reason  for  the  heroism  of 
Christianity,  the  unconquerable  firmness 
of  its  adherents,  and  its  rapid  increase 
under  persecution.  But  the  Gospel's 
victories  over  the  Roman  legions,  can 
never  be  accounted  for,  on  the  ground 
that  man  naturally  loves  novelty,  dis- 
tinction, pain  and  death.  A  good  prac- 
tical argument,  that  infidels  do  not  be- 
lieve their  own  theory  here,  is  found  in 
the  fact,  that  with  all  their  zeal  for  Deism, 
they  do  not  wish  it  to  be  advanced  by 
persecution  unto  blood  and  death.  It  is 
seriously  to  be  doubted,  whether  either 
Hume  or  Gibbon  would  have  preferred 
death  and  the  advancement  of  infidel 
philosophy,  to  a  good  living  and  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  Christian  superstition. 
Any  person,  who  will  look  into  the  books 
of  Martyrs,  will  surely  not  suppose 
their  sufferings  could  operate  as  motives 
leading  others  to  embrace  their  religion. 
The  true  philosophy  has  just  been  hinted 
at.  Their  patience  under  suffering  con- 
vinced the  spectators  that  they  firmly 
believed  their  own  doctrines ;  and  thus 


led  them  to  examine  ;  and  so  conviction 
spread  from  the  martyr's  stake.  But  if 
Christianity  had  been  an  imposture,  a 
system  of  falsehood,  these  examinations 
would  have  led  to  its  detection,  and  so 
to  its  ruin.  To  no  religion  but  the  true, 
which  will  bear  close  scrutiny,  can  perse- 
cution be  permanently  beneficial.  False 
religions,  or  opinions  of  any  kind,  may 
gain  by  it  a  little  temporary  advantage. 
Distress  will  always  excite  sympathy  ; 
but  if  sympathy  leads  to  close  investiga- 
tion into  the  false  opinions,  it  will  not 
end  in  their  permanent  promotion.  No 
man  will  long  suffer  for  false  doctrine. 
It  is  the  embodiment  of  the  truth  in  the 
lives,  the  actions,  and  sufferings  of  Chris- 
tians, that  operates  the  influence  in  ques- 
tion. It  was  not  the  death  of  the  martyrs 
that  worked  so  mightily.  Their  moral 
heroism  convinced  all  men,  that  it  had  a 
foundation  in  truth.  We  therefore  con- 
tend, that  the  groivth  of  the  bush  in  the 
midst  of  the  fire,  is  proof  of  God's 
presence  in  the  midst  of  both.  Not  so 
with  any  false  religion. 

Let  us  not  be  told  that  all  creeds  have 
had  their  martyrs.  It  is  not  true  in  fact, 
as  it  is  true  with  Christianity.  Nor  is  it 
true  with  spurious  Christianity.  We 
admit  that  Quakers  have  been  burnt, 
that  Deists  have  been  disfranchised,  that 
French  Atheists  have  been  guillotined, 
that  Prelatists  and  Romanists  have  been 
shot;  still,  it  is  not  an  historical  truth 
that  any  of  these,  or  any  other  sect  of 
false  philosophy  or  religion,  have  had 
their  martyrs  in  the  sense  in  which  evan- 
gelical Christianity  has  had  hers.  It  is 
not  true  that  any  false  religionists  have 
been  persecuted  unto  death,  by  hundreds 
and  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
for  centuries  together,  formally  and  sim- 
ply, because  they  held  certain  religious 
tenets.  Moreover,  it  never  can  become 
true.  It  is  an  impossibility  in  the  phy- 
sical constitution  of  the  human  mind, 
that  men  in  great  numbers,  and  for  ex- 
tended periods  of  time,  should  sell  their 
lives  for  sake  of  falsehood.  Insulated 
cases  there  have  been,  and  cases  where 
small  bodies  highly  excited,  have  suffered 
death.  But  it  has  been  more  for  the 
pride  of  consistency,  the  fondness  of  no- 


LECTURE  XV. 


135 


toriety,  for  the  spirit  of  the  body,  than 
out  of  love  to  error.  But  that  a  suc- 
cession of  men  should  keep  up  the  de- 
lusions of  error,  and  die  in  great  num- 
bers, martyrs  to  falsehood,  is  as  untrue 
in  philosophy  as  it  is  in  history.  Had 
not  a  divine  energy  accompanied  the 
testimony  of  the  martyrs,  and  made  the 
truth  mighty,  the  church  had  sunk  un- 
der the  deathfires  of  the  ten  general  per- 
secutions and  the  multitudinous  ones  of 
a  more  limited  extent.  There  is  no 
reasonable  and  satisfactory  mode  of  ac- 
counting for  her  survival,  but  upon  the 
ground  exhibited  to  Moses  in  the  sym- 
bol ;  the  bush  which  he  saw  in  Horeb 
burned  in  the  flame,  but  was  not  con- 
sumed, because  God  was  there. 

For  two  hundred  years  had  the  church 
been  wading  through  blood ;  not  of  her 
foes,  but  her  own.  Many  of  her  sons 
did  employ  carnal  weapons,  but  not  for- 
mally for  her,  or  in  her  service.  They 
entered  the  armies  of  their  country  ;  not 
to  fight  for  the  upbuilding  of  Christianity, 
but  for  their  country.  They  were  never 
enlisted  as  Christians,  and  yet  God  did 
so  arrange  it,  that  for  the  most  part  the 
army  was  Christian  which  achieved  those 
victories  of  Constantine,  which  made  him 
master  of  the  Roman  world. 

Now,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  we 
have  mastered  history,  because  we  have 
recounted  the  story  of  wars  and  battles, 
the  rise  and  triumph  of  one  dynasty, 
the  destruction  and  fall  of  another.  Tbe 
Christian  historian  has  other  and  far 
more  important  points  in  his  eye.  He 
has  all  along  been  watching  the  kingdom 
of  the  little  stone,  marking  the  develope- 
ment  of  truth  and  its  influence  upon  hu- 
man society ;  he  has  noted  the  secret 
working  of  the  leaven  of  his  kingdom  ; 
he  has  eyed  with  intense  interest,  the 
waning  light  of  paganism ;  he  has  seen 
the  elective  principle  eating  its  way  to- 
wards the  vitals  of  despotism.  This  did 
not  escape  the  philosophic  eye  of  the 
historian  of  the  Decline  and  Fall.  Even 
he  has  remarked  the  republican  nature 
of  the  ecclesiastical  organization,  and 
in  his  apology  for  the  Dioclesian  perse- 
cution, alleges  that  as  a  reason,  and  in 
a  degree,  as  a  palliation,  of  the  hatred 


of  the  pagan  emperors  toward  the  Chris- 
tians. They  perceived,  he  intimates, 
the  rising  up  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment, under  the  forms  of  church  policy. 
Whether  or  not  they  perceived  it,  the 
fact  is  so.  The  church  in  its  elementary 
purity  is  a  republican  system — a  system 
of  representative  government.  Edmund 
Burke,  arguing  against  the  hostile  mea- 
sures of  Lord  North  in  regard  to  Ame- 
rica, referred  to  our  democratic  religion, 
as  evidence  of  our  unconquerable  attach- 
ment to  the  l-epresentative  principle,  and 
of  the  consequent  folly  of  attempting  to 
extend  taxation  where  representation  did 
not  accompany  it.  The  emperors  of 
Rome  had  better  reason  of  policy  for 
persecuting  the  church  than  the  kings  of 
England  had  for  taxing  the  colonies  with- 
out their  consent.  But  all  availed  not ; 
for  God  is  in  the  midst  of  Zion  ;  her 
course  is  onivard  ;  and  she  finds  at  last 
a  resting  place  where  she  may  breathe 
freely,  without  the  menace  of  a  sword 
over  her  head  continually.  This  con- 
sequence or  rather  concomitant  of  the 
sixth  seal,  we  have  in  chapter  vii. 

In  the  exposition  we  find  a  very  gene- 
ral agreement  among  interpreters.  It  is 
a  description  of  the  events  consequent 
upon  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  and 
constitutes  a  very  important  part  of  its 
matter. 

Verse  1.  "  And  after  these  things,  I 
saw  four  angels  standing  on  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  holding  the  four 
winds  of  the  earth,  that  the  wind  should 
not  blow  on  the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea, 
nor  on  any  tree." 

"  The  earth,"  or  Roman  empire,  was 
almost  a  rectangular  figure,  having  its 
longer  dimensions  extending  east  and 
west,  and  its  shorter  north  and  south. 
Hence  our  phraseology,  longitude  and 
latitude,  to  mark  distance  in  the  two 
directions.  From  this  also  we  form  the 
conception  of  four  corners,  or  angles,  to 
the  empire.  Each  of  these  is  represented 
as  the  station  of  an  angelic  sentinel : — 
that  is,  the  agency  which  God  employs 
to  send  peace  or  war  upon  the  people. 
The  wind,  which  often  sweeps  over  the 
land,  and  prostrates  every  thing  in  its 
course,  is  here   emblematic  of  all   the 


136 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


instruments  which  God  uses  to  execute 
his  vengeance.  The  sea,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  the  mass  of  population,  and  the 
tree  is  the  representative  of  all  the  pro- 
ductions of  nature.  The  angels  seen  at 
their  posts  respectively  holding  in  check 
the  winds,  do  then  forcibly  exhibit  God's 
agents,  by  which  he  restrains  all  the  foul 
and  fierce  passions  of  men,  in  or  out  of 
power,  that  they  may  not  desolate  the 
world  and  distract  and  oppress  thechurch. 

Verses  2,  3.  "  And  I  saw  another 
angel  ascending  from  the  east,  having 
the  seal  of  the  living  God  :  and  he  cried 
with  a  loud  voice  to  the  four  angels  to 
whom  it  was  given  to  hurt  the  earth,  and 
the  sea,  saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth, 
neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we 
have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God,  in 
their  foreheads."  This  fifth  angel  doubt- 
lessly prefigures  the  Gospel  ministry, 
who  pray  for  a  continuance  of  peace 
and  tranquillity,  as  favourable  to  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel.  And  such  was 
historically  the  case.  There  was  a  long 
period  of  quietness  and  great  external 
prosperity,  immediately  consequent  upon 
the  victories  of  Constantine,  which  con- 
tinued without  much  interruption  until 
the  death  of  Theodosius  the  Great,  in 
395, — a  period  of  seventy-two  years. 
There  were,  indeed,  various  agitations 
and  commotions  within  the  church  ;  but 
there  was  no  considerable  violence  from 
without.  The  feet  of  the  great  giant 
were  lifted  off  from  the  neck  of  the 
church,  and  she  was  mercifully  per- 
mitted to  breathe  freely. 

The  only  material  interruption  occurred 
during  (he  short  reign  of  Julian,  the  Apos- 
tate, another  particular  favourite  of  the 
historian  of  the  Decline  and  Fall.  Julian 
was  nephew  to  Constantine,  and  had  been 
carefully  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  But  becoming  enamoured 
of  the  Platonic  philosophy,  he  apostatized 
entirely  to  paganism,  and  exerted  all  his 
power,  though  cautiously,  to  restore  pa- 
ganism and  suppress  Christianity.  To 
falsify  the  New  Testament  prophecies, 
he  attempted,  through  the  Jews,  to  re- 
build the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ;  but  was 
foiled  by  the  supernatural  interposition 
of  fiery  balls,  issuing  from  the  ground 


and  driving  off  those  employed  at  the 
work.  He  did  every  thing  that  art 
could  do  to  sow  dissension  and  bitterness 
among  the  Christians,  under  pretence  of 
reconciling  them.  He  expelled  most  of 
the  teachers,  bishops,  and  others,  from 
their  schools,  and  many  were  forced  to 
fly  their  country.  He  was  peculiarly 
enraged  at  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Alex- 
andria, the  illustrious  defender  of  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  trinity.  He 
banished  him  from  his  country,  and 
would,  beyond  doubt,  have  executed 
him,  had  not  policy  prevented.  "  I 
swear,"  says  Julian  in  a  letter  to  Ec- 
decius,  prefect  of  Egypt ;  "  I  swear  by 
the  great  Serapis,  that  unless  on  the 
calends  of  December,  Athanasius  has 
departed  from  Alexandria,  nay  from 
Egypt,  the  officers  of  your  government 
shall  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds 
of  gold.  You  know  my  temper :  I  am 
slow  to  condemn,  but  I  am  still  slower 
to  forgive. — The  contempt  that  is  shown 
for  all  the  gods  fills  me  with  grief  and 
indignation.  There  is  nothing  that  I 
should  see,  nothing  that  I  should  hear, 
with  more  pleasure,  than  the  expul- 
sion of  Athanasius  from  Egypt.  The 
abominable  wretch  !  Under  my  reign 
the  baptism  of  several  Grecian  ladies 
of  the  highest  rank  has  been  the  effect 
of  his  persecutions."  After  making 
this  quotation,  his  brother  philosopher 
adds,  "  The  death  of  Athanasius  was 
not  expressly  commanded,  but  the  pre- 
fect of  Egypt  understood  that  it  was 
safer  for  him  to  exceed  than  to  neglect 
the  orders  of  an  irritated  master,"  (chap, 
xxiii.)  He  might  with  perfect  truth  have 
added,  that  nothing  but  their  overwhelm- 
ing numbers,  in  Egypt  and  every  where, 
saved  the  Christians  from  a  more  than 
Dioclesian  persecution.  In  truth,  when- 
ever philosophy  ascended  the  throne,  the 
church  bled.  The  points  of  resemblance 
between  Julian's  sentiments  and  those  of 
the  transcendental  Neologists  of  Ger- 
many, France,  and  now  it  may  be  added, 
America,  are  abundantly  sufficient  to 
prove  the  truth  of  Solomon's  remark, — 
"  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun  ; 
is  there  any  thing  of  which  it  may  be 
said,  See,  this  is  new."     By  the  same 


LECTURE  XV. 


137 


steps  which  carried  Julian  up  to  the 
summit  of  Olympus  and  the  shrine  of 
Jupiter,  are  the  modern  Platonists  as- 
cending through  the  regions  of  "  the 
pure  reason"  into  the  To  sv, — the  pan- 
theistic transcendentalism,  which  makes 
so  near  an  approximation  to  the  perfect 
sublime  of  "  the  absolute"  atheism. 

Had  Julian  succeeded  in  his  Persian 
expedition,  and  returned  with  the  spoils 
of  the  East  and  a  victorious  army,  there 
can  be  little  doubt,  but  that  the  happy 
tranquillity  referred  to  on  Constantine's 
medals,  would  not  have  been  of  long 
continuance.  In  mercy,  however,  to 
his  church,  God  directed  a  Persian  ar- 
row to  the  vitals  of  the  infidel  philoso- 
pher, and  so  died  the  last  pagan  empe- 
ror, after  an  inglorious  reign  of  twenty 
months. 

But  to  return  to  the  text.  Sealing  the 
servants  of  God  in  their  foreheads  is  a 
manifest  allusion  to  the  great  increase 
of  the  church.  Seals  are  impressed  to 
give  securit)-.  They  are  also  a  sign 
and  mark  of  property,  and  it  is  probable 
there  is  reference  to  the  custom  then 
prevalent,  of  marking  slaves  with  a 
brand.  As  the  Roman  master  marked 
his  slaves  to  secure  them  to  himself;  so 
God  marks,  with  the  seal  of  his  covenant, 
his  believing  people.  This  seal  is  on 
the  forehead,  that  it  may  be  seen  and 
read  of  all  men. 

Now  baptism  is,  and  ever  has  been,  the 
public  seal  of  God's  covenant  in  the  Chris- 
tian church.  Accordingly,  history  tells 
us  of  very  great  numbers  being  admitted 
into  the  church,  by  public  baptism,  du- 
ring this  season  of  tranquillity. 

In  verses  4,  5,  6,  7,  and  8,  the  num- 
ber is  stated,  and  the  proportion  from 
each.  One  hundred  and  forty-four  thou- 
sand ;  that  is,  twelve  thousand  from  each 
tribe ;  except  that  Dan  is  left  out  and 
Manasseh  is  taken  in,  as  a  tribe.  A  defi- 
nite number  is  here  put  for  an  indefinite. 
The  next  object  that  attracted  the 
apostle's  notice,  was  an  immense  "  multi- 
tude which  no  man  could  number,  of  all 
nations  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,  which  stood  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white 
raiment,  and  palms  in  their  hands :  and 

18 


cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Salva- 
tion to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb."  These,  we 
are  assured  in  verse  13,  "are  they  which 
came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  In  other 
words,  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  whose  souls 
were  seen  under  the  altar,  and  those  who 
were  afterwards  slain  by  the  sword  of 
persecution.  We  are  to  note  concerning 
them. 

1.  Their  numbers  are  very  great:  so 
great,  that  man  cannot  cast  the  mighty 
sum.  The  ingenuity  of  the  learned  his- 
torian, just  referred  to,  is  taxed  to  the 
utmost  to  fritter  down  this  great  multi- 
tude to  an  inconsiderable  handful ;  as  he 
labours  to  make  the  Pagan  persecutions 
small,  and  merely  local  and  incidental 
trifles  :  slight  blemishes  upon  a  vast  and 
beautiful  system.  Not  such  is  the  in- 
fallible record  of  prophecy  :  nor  such  is 
the  verity  of  historic  detail.  We  may 
refer  to  Pliny's  letters  to  Trajan,  where 
he  speaks  of  the  whole  province  as  in 
clanger  of  being  depopulated,  as  one 
among  many  testimonies  in  the  face  of 
the  Pagan  apologist. 

2.  Note  their  collection  from  all  na- 
tions. In  every  tribe  and  family  of  the 
Roman  empire,  the  persecutor's  sword 
sluiced  many  a  Christian's  veins. 

3.  Their  position, — "  before  the  throne 
and  before  the  Lamb."  God's  holy 
martyrs  are  protected  by  the  power  of 
his  moral  government,  and  the  arm  of 
their  Almighty  Redeemer.  They  are 
admitted  to  very  peculiar  honour  and 
happiness. 

4.  Their  dress, — •■"clothed  in  white 
raiment,  and  palms  in  their  hands :"  the 
garments  of  purity  and  triumph,  and 
palms  of  victory. 

5.  Their  employment, — -celebrating 
the  praises  of  redeeming  love.  They 
ascribe  their  salvation  to  God  and  the 
Lamb. 

6.  The  means  of  their  purity, — "  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  By  this 
have  they  gained  the  victory  equally 
over  their  own  sins,  and  over  their  ex- 
ternal foes. 


133 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


7.  The  perpetuity  of  their  worship, — 
"  day  and  night  in  his  temple." 

8.  Their  unspeakable  felicity, — "They 
shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more:  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  heat;" — no  evils  shall  befall 
them.  And  their  positive  enjoyments 
shall  be  great;  "For  the  Lamb  which 
is  in  the  midst,  between  them  and  the 
throne,  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them 
unto  living  fountains  of  waters:  and 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their 
eyes."  Thus,  beautifully  is  described 
their  entire  exemption  from  all  pain,  and 
their  perfect  enjoyment  of  inexpressible 
bliss. 

In  verse  11,  the  ranks  of  angels  stand 
round,  or  rather  have  taken  their  station 
in  a  circle  of  the  throne :  they  consti- 
tute an  outer-guard,  encircling  the  glo- 
rious scene.  They  are  "  all  ministering 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them  who 
shall  be  heirs  of  salvation :"  and  espe- 
cially to  the  martyrs  of  Jesus. 

In  concluding  the  period  of  the  seals, 
let  us  remember, 

1.  The  star  of  Bethlehem  came  from 
the  east.  Westward  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness takes  his  way.  Steadily  has 
the  light  travelled  from  the  rising  of  the 
sun  toward  the  going  down  of  the  same. 
Let  it  be  our  care,  that  we  present  no 
barrier  to  his  progress  ;  but  rather  assist 
in  speeding  his  conquering  car  toward 
the  Pacific  waves,  and  the  isles  of  the 
ocean. 

2.  Baptism  is  a  public  ordinance :  the 
seal  of  God  is  in  the  forehead  of  his 
saints  :  therefore,  the  private  administra- 
tion of  it  is  a  contradiction.  God's  mar- 
tyrs are  not  ashamed  to  receive  the  im- 
press of  his  seal  in  the  most  public 
manner. 

3.  Times  of  great  external  prosperity 
are  not  necessarily  times  of  internal 
purity.  Multitudinous  additions  are  very 
likelv  to  involve  considerable  numbers 
of  self-deceived  professors.  Weshall  have 
occasion  to  notice  hereafter,  that  the  acts 
of  toleration,  and  much  more  those  of 
establishment,  had  an  injurious  influence 
upon  the  church :  and  it  can  readily  be 
perceived  how  persecution  keeps  the 
body  pure. 


4.  The  angels  of  glory  rejoice  at  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel ;  though  they  can- 
not sing  the  songs  of  appropriating  and 
triumphant  faith.  How  will  it  be  when 
the  work  shall  have  been  completed,  and 
all  the  ransomed  throng  shall  stand  be- 
fore the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb? 

5.  Would  you,  my  friends,  each  wear 
a  white  robe,  and  bear  a  palm  of  victory? 
W'ould  you  strike  a  note  of  joy  in  that 
grand  choir?  Cast  yourselves  then  before 
the  foot  of  the  cross, — be  sprinkled  and 
washed  in  the  blood  of  the  slain  Lamb : 
so  shall  your  robes  be  spotless, — your 
victory  certain. 

Do  not  sorrow  over  guilt  unforgiven, 
and  mourn  a  heart  impenitent  and  dead? 
Does  the  conflict  with  the  law  of  sin  in 
your  members  almost  sink  your  soul  in 
despair?  Lift  up  your  head.  Jesus 
washes  away  all  transgression  by  his 
blood, — all  pollution  by  his  spirit, — all 
tears  by  the  hand  of  his  love. 


LECTURE  XVI. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  TRUMPETS. 

"  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal, 
there  was  silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of 
half  an  hour.  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels 
which  stood  before  God;  and  to  them  were 
given  seven  trumpets.  And  another  angel  came 
and  stood  at  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer ; 
and  there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense, 
that  he  should  offer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all 
saints,  upon  the  golden  altar,  which  was  before 
the  throne.  And  the  smoke  of  the  incense, 
which  came  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  as- 
cended up  before  God,  out  of  the  angel's  hand. 
And  the  angel  took  the  censer,  and  filled  it 
with  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  it  into  the  earth : 
and  there  were  voices,  and  thundcrings,  and 
lightnings,  and  an  earthquake.  And  the  seven 
angels,  which  had  the  seven  trumpets,  prepared 
themselves  to  sound." — Rev.  chap.  viii.  1-G. 

Time  is  a  revealer  of  secrets.  It  is 
measured  only  by  motion  ;  and  all  its 
movements  are  under  the  control  and 
direction  of  the  God  of  Providence, — the 
Lamb  that  was  slain.  Time,  therefore, 
and  all  time's  offspring,  are  practical 
disclosers  of  the  divine  purpose.     God's 


LECTURE  XVI. 


139 


will  is  made  known  in  his  works,  and 
therefore    the    importance    of   studying 
both  the  book  of  revelation,  and  the  book 
of  providence; — the  pros-script,  and  the 
post-script  history.     They  are  two  mir- 
rors, which  reflect  light  mutually,  and 
make  the  objects  between,  visible  on  all 
sides.     Through  a  lapse  of  nearly  three 
centuries  we  have  been  tracing  this  pa- 
rallel.    We  have  held  up  the  two  mir- 
rors,   and    it    is    hoped,    have    obtained 
thereby  many  profitable  visions,  before 
unseen ;  or  so  imperfectly  perceived,  as 
to  be  practically  useless.     We  have  re- 
marked the  gradual  and  slow,  but  steady 
and   sure  progress  of  right   principles. 
We  have  seen  the  truth,  by  its  inborn 
energy,  and  the  heroic  sufferings  of  its 
friends  resulting  therefrom,  moving  on 
from  victory  to  victory,  until   it   fairly 
expelled  the  fiend  of  despotism  from  the 
strongholds  of  pagan  polytheism,  where 
it  had  fortified  itself  in  confident  security 
from  the  days  of  Nimrod,  and  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar.    For  twenty-five  centuries 
had  the  gods  of  the  nations   lent  their 
influence  over  the  minds  of  men,  to  the 
dynasties,   whose    power   thus   created, 
was  again  exerted  for  the  upholding  of 
pagan  superstitions.     It  is  now  an  ad- 
mitted maxim  in  political  science,  that 
virtue,  or  sound  morality,  is  indispensa- 
ble to  a  free  government.     This  maxim 
is   the   secret  of  the  church's   success. 
To  embody  it  in  human  society  is  her 
constant  effort.     It   has  ever  been   her 
practice    to    aim    at    making    men   free 
from  the  pollutions  of  sin,  and   giving 
form  to  that  freedom  in  the  organization 
of  her  social  system.     She  erects  a  spi- 
ritual dominion,  whose  life  and  soul  is 
the   representative   principle ;    in    order 
that  her  members  may  learn  submission 
to  law  in  the  hands  of  their  own  chosen 
agents.     In  this  way,  the  church  directs 
her  first  blow  to  the  root  of  despotism, — 
the  corruption  of  the  human  heart ;  and 
having,  by  the  doctrines  of  grace,  and 
the   power   of  the   divine    spirit    which 
accompanies  them,  released  the  indivi- 
dual   from    the   first   and   worst   of  all 
bondage,  and   placed   him  under  a  go- 
vernment of  law,  in  the  hands  of  rulers 
chosen  by  himself,  she  has  made  him, 


in  the  highest  and  most  important  sense, 
free.  This  is  Heaven's  mode  of  unbind- 
ing the  captive ;  and  no  other  will  ever 
avail.  Its  unchanging  law  is,  liberty  in 
fact, — afterwards  liberty  in  form :  deli- 
verance from  ignorance  and  sin, — then 
deliverance  from  their  influences  and 
effects  in  the  hands  of  men.  This  order 
of  things  exists  in  the  nature  which  God 
has  given  to  his  creatures ;  and  there- 
fore it  cannot  be  reversed.  The  chains 
of  political  bondage  might  be  broken 
from  the  Russian  serf;  universal  suf- 
frage might  be  bestowed  upon  the  whole 
population  of  Britain  and  Ireland ;  but 
would  they  remain  free  ?  No  ;  for  the 
minds  of  the  vast  majority  are  held  in 
grosser  servitude  than  are  their  bodies. 
We  see,  therefore,  the  unreasonableness 
of  attempting,  by  civil  legislation,  imme- 
diately to  make  men  free.  Can  legisla- 
tion, directly  and  at  once,  purify  the 
heart,  and  enlighten  the  understanding? 
Is  Mexico  freer  now  than  before  the 
Spanish  yoke  was  broken  ?  God's  plan 
is  to  release  the  individual  from  the 
bonds  which  sin  has  imposed  upon  him, 
and  thus  to  prepare  masses  of  men  for 
self-government.  In  this  way  only  can 
the  sceptre  of  tyranny  be  broken  for 
ever.  In  less  than  three  centuries  this 
plan  quenched  the  lights  of  paganism, 
and  kindled  the  torch  of  truth  in  most 
parts  of  the  Roman  empire. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  consideration 
of  the  symbolical  earth  under  its  Chris- 
tian form. 

We  have  at  present  before  us  the 
introduction  to  the  trumpets. 

"  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh 
seal,  there  was  silence  in  heaven  about 
the  space  of  half  an  hour." 

The  whole  scene  is  still  in  the  church  ; 
and  silence  in  it  betokens  a  deep  and 
marked  attention.  There  is  also  mani- 
fest allusion  to  the  system  of  rites  at  the 
temple.  When  the  priest  entered  into 
the  most  holy  place,  with  the  censer  of 
incense,  "  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
people  prayed  without ;"  not  by  audible 
expressions ;  but  in  deep  and  solemn 
silence.  From  this  Jewish  custom,  which 
was  extremely  natural,  it  can  readily  be 
perceived   how  the  half  hour's  silence 


140 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


represents  a  period  of  great  anxiety, 
and  an  earnest  expectancy  of  some 
strange  events.  The  phrase,  about  the 
space  of  half  an  hour,  plainly  intimates 
that  no  precise  and  specific  time  is  in- 
tended. It  merely  expresses  a  short 
pause,  such  as  that  which  occurs  when 
two  armies,  ready  to  engage,  await  the 
word  of  command. 

The  most  probable  date  of  this  short 
silence  is  upon  the  death  of  the  great 
Theodosius,  the  last  of  Rome's  heroic 
emperors.  He  had  been  raised  to  the 
imperial  dignity  by  the  favour  of  the 
Emperor  Gratian,  and  the  acclamations 
of  the  army,  A.  D.  379.  At  this  June- 
ture  the  perils  of  the  empire  were  ex- 
treme, because  of  the  dark  and  terrible 
war-clouds  that  still  lowered  in  the  north. 
Gratian  and  the  army  looked  on  them 
with  considerable  emotion.  The  fierce 
hordes  cf  barbarians,  who  had  furnished 
to  Constantine  opportunities  so  nume- 
rous of  displaying  his  valorous  spirit 
and  consummate  skill,  continued  to  bear 
down  from  the  north  and  east.  All  eyes 
turned  to  Theodosius.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  noble  Spaniard  of  the  same  name, 
who,  standing  high  in  favour  and  com- 
mand with  the  Emperor  Valentinian, 
bad  reaped  his  renown  in  Britain,  Spain, 
and  Africa.  The  son  inherited  the  talents 
and  had  been  trained  in  the  camp  of  his 
father.  His  merits  and  his  father's  in- 
fluence soon  procured  to  him  the  com- 
mand of  Moesia,  under  the  title  of  duke. 
His  military  prowess  had  been  farther 
developed  by  a  great  victory  achieved 
over  an  army  of  Sarmatians.  But  the 
cruel  and  unjust  execution  of  his  father 
by  the  order  or  connivance  of  the  Em- 
peror Gratian,  induced  him,  at  once,  to 
withdraw  from  the  public  service ;  which, 
by  Gratian's  permission,  he  did,  and  re- 
tired to  his  paternal  estate,  near  Valla- 
dolid,  in  Spain.  There  he  pursued  the 
duties  of  private  life,  until  his  sword  be- 
came necessary  to  the  salvation  of  his 
country. 

On  the  ninth  of  March,  A.  D.  378, 
the  Emperor  Valens  fought  with  the 
Gauls  the  disastrous  battle  of  Hadriano- 
ple,  in  which  Valens  was  slain,  and  his 
army  cut  to  pieces.     The  East  then  lay 


open  to  the  barbarians.  On  this  occa- 
sion it  was,  that  Gratian,  the  youthful 
Emperor  of  the  West,  who,  advancing 
with  all  power  and  speed,  to  assist  his 
colleague  Valens  when  he  fell,  selected 
the  exile  of  Valladolid  as  the  bulwark 
of  the  empire.  "  During  the  season  of 
prosperity,"  says  Gibbon,  "he  had  been 
neglected  ;  but  in  the  public  distress,  his 
superior  merit  was  universally  felt  and 
acknowledged.  What  confidence  must 
have  been  reposed  in  his  integrity,  since 
Gratian  could  trust,  that  a  pious  son 
would  forgive,  for  the  sake  of  the  re- 
public, the  murder  of  his  father  !  What 
expectations  must  have  been  formed  of 
his  abilities,  to  encourage  the  hope  that 
a  single  man  could  save  and  restore  the 
Empire  of  the  East !  Theodosius  was 
invested  with  the  purple  in  the  thirty- 
third  year  of  his  age."  The  fondest 
hopes  of  all  men  were  realized.  For 
sixteen  years  Theodosius  turned  the  tor- 
rent of  war  to  the  banks  of  the  Danube; 
twice  he  crushed  usurpation  and  cruelty 
and  restored  the  Western  Empire.  But 
whilst  the  whole  Roman  world  l-egarded 
him  with  just  pride  as  their  shield  and 
protection,  and  anticipated  the  felicities 
of  a  long  reign,  he  was  suddenly  carried 
oft*  by  a  dropsical  disease,  A.D.  395. 
Thus  four  months  only  after  his  most 
decisive  victory  over  the  revolted  gene- 
ral, Abrogastes,  and  Eugenius,  the 
rhetorician,  whom  the  former  had  set 
up  as  his  tool,  for  an  emperor,  the 
hopes  of  the  world  and  the  church  were 
blasted.  It  is  necessary  farther  to  re- 
mark, that  Theodosius  had,  from  the  be- 
ginning, taken  decided  ground  in  favour 
of  the  Trinitarians  against  the  Arians, 
and  he  had  done  much  towards  the 
annihilation  of  pagan  idolatry.  At  his 
death,  therefore,  there  was  a  general 
panic  in  the  empire  ;  and  more  espe- 
cially in  the  church, — a  dread  and 
solemn  pause.  All  hearts,  particularly 
those  of  the  Christians,  trembled  for  the 
consequences  :  for  it  was  known  that 
the  Gothic  barbarians  who  hung  upon 
the  northeast,  were  decided  Arians. 
"  The  Romans,"  says  Gibbon,  "  were 
terrified  by  the  impending  dangers  of  a 
feeble  and  divided  administration."  This 


LECTURE  XVI. 


141 


is  the  "  silence  about  the  space  of  half 
an  hour." 

The  trumpet  is  an  instrument  used  to 
increase  the  power  of  the  human  voice, 
and  to  make  its  tones  audible  at  a 
greater  distance  than  if  unaided.  Its 
use  was  chiefly  as  a  signal  or  call  to 
some  special  duty,  particularly  to  pre- 
pare for,  and  guard  against  coming  dan- 
gers. For  in  such  purposes  it  was 
divinely  appointed.  "  Make  thee  two 
trumpets  of  silver  :  of  a  whole  piece 
shalt  thou  make  them,  that  thou  mayest 
use  them  for  the  calling  of  the  assembly, 
and  for  the  journeyings  of  the  camp. — 
And  the  sons  of  Aaron  the  priest  shall 
blow  with  the  trumpets. — And  if  ye  go 
to  war  in  your  land,  against  the  enemy 
that  oppresseth  you,  then  ye  shall  blow 
an  alarm  with  the  trumpets."  (Num.  x. 
1-10.  See  also  Jer.  iv.  5,  19,  20  ;  vi. 
17  ;  Ez.  xxxiii.  2-6  ;  Joel,  ii.  1.)  The 
sound  of  the  trumpet  is  thus  an  alarm, 
and  a  call  to  patient  suffering  or  active 
resistance  to  coming  calamity.  The 
seven  angels  with  the  seven  trumpets 
perform  an  office  very  analogous  to  that 
of  the  four  living  ones,  accompanying 
the  seals.  It  is  not  of  material  conse- 
quence whether  we  maintain  them  to  be 
symbolical  of  the  ministry,  or  to  be 
the  superhuman  agency  itself,  whereby 
the  designs  of  Providence  are  accom- 
plished. Perhaps  the  latter  would  most 
perfectly  correspond  with  what  we  are 
to  notice  next. 

Verses  3,  4.  "And  another  angel 
came  and  stood  at  the  altar,  having  a 
golden  censer,  and  there  was  given  unto 
him  much  incense,  that  he  should  offer 
it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints,  upon 
the  golden  altar,  which  was  before  the 
throne.  And  the  smoke  of  the  incense, 
which  came  with  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  ascended  up  before  God,  out  of 
the  angel's  hand."  There  can  be  no 
diversity  of  opinion  here.  This  is  the 
gospel  ministry,  who  stand  before  God, 
and  begin  all  their  work  at  the  altar  : — 
all  their  hopes  of  successful  ministration 
are  founded  in  the  fundamental  doctrine 
of  atonement.  Through  their  instru- 
mentality, the  prayers  of  the  saints 
are  called  forth,  and  ascend  and  bring 


blessing,    or   wrath,    as    the    case   may 
be. 

Verse  5.  "And  the  angel  took  the 
censer,  and  filled  it  with  fire  of  the  altar, 
and  cast  it  into  the  earth."  This  is  a 
different  altar  from  the  preceding  one. 
That  was  the  golden  altar  of  incense, 
which  stood  in  the  holy  place,  imme- 
diately before  the  ark,  and  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  veil  from  it.  But  this  is 
the  altar  of  burnt  offerings,  whence 
always  the  coals  were  taken  for  burning 
the  incense  in  the  censer,  and  on  the 
altar  of  incense.  The  act  of  throwing 
coals  from  the  altar  upon  the  earth, 
signifies  that  the  calamities  resulting 
therefrom,  fall  upon  the  empire  from 
the  doctrine  of  atonement  itself.  The 
abuse  and  corruption  of  this  leading 
doctrine  causes  immense  distress  :  and 
we  shall  see  most  abundantly,  before 
we  arrive  at  the  close  of  this  period  of 
the  trumpets,  that  the  sins  of  men  in 
denying,  setting  aside,  or  perverting  it, 
have  been  fruitful  sources  of  heresy  in 
the  church,  and  have  made  her  the 
sport  of  her  enemies ;  and  we  shall 
also  see,  that  the  interference  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  empire  with  this  cen- 
tral truth,  has  resulted  in  vast  contro- 
versy, confusion,  and  misery- 
Verse  5.  "  And  there  were  voices, 
and  thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and 
an  earthquake."  These  are  a  compend 
of  the  whole  substance  of  the  trumpets : 
a  kind  of  brief  summary ;  the  details  of 
which  we  shall  meet  with  as  we  severally 
examine  them. 

Verse  6.  "  And  the  seven  angels 
which  had  the  seven  trumpets,  prepared 
themselves  to  sound." 

From  this  introduction  to  the  trum- 
pets, we  may  deduce  some  remarks  for 
consideration. 

1.  We  are  taught  the  deep  interest 
which  the  church  of  God  has  in  the 
movements  of  the  civil  powers,  and  the 
revolutions  to  which  they  are  subject. 
Whilst  in  the  world,  Christians,  indi- 
vidually and  collectively,  are  "  not  of 
the  world  :"  but  they  are  not  therefore 
to  remain  unaffected  by  its  commotions, 
and  impossible  is  it  that  they  should  be 
indifferent  spectators  of  them. 


142 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


2.  We  cannot  but  perceive  that  the 
prayers  of  the  people  of  God  have  an 
agency  and  instrumentality  deeply  affect- 
ing the  nations.  Men  may  scoff,  and 
profess  to  feel  regardless  whether  or  not 
the  church  pleads  for  them,  or  invokes 
the  vengeance  of  heaven  upon  them  ; 
yet  this  does  not  prove  that  they  feel  no 
concern,  and  have  no  desire  to  be  re- 
membered in  the  supplications  of  holy 
men  ;  much  less  does  it  prove  that  they 
are  without  effect.  So  long  as  the  in- 
cense of  prayer  ascends,  so  long  will 
God's  ear  be  open  to  hear,  and  his  hand 
extended  to  deliver. 

3.  The  heaviest  judgments  of  the 
Most  High  will  descend  upon  the  de- 
generate church  which  perverts  the  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement.  The  same  fire 
that  kindles  the  incense  of  acceptable 
devotion,  lights  up  the  flames  of  God's 
wrath.  Let  the  church  then  guard  with 
peculiar  care  the  grand  truth  of  redemp- 
tion by  the  vicarious  death  of  the  slain 
Lamb :  holding  this  in  its  purity,  she 
cannot  fall ;  forsaking  and  neglecting  it, 
she  cannot  rise. 


THE  FISST,  SECOND,  THIRD,  AND  FOURTH 
TRUMPETS. 

Rev.  viii.  7.  "  The  first  angel  sounded, 
and  there  followed  hail  and  fire,  mingled 
with  blood,  and  they  were  cast  upon  the 
earth  :  and  the  third  part  of  trees  were 
burnt  up,  and  all  green  grass  was 
burnt  up." 

Hail,  fire,  and  blood  cast  upon  the 
earth,  very  strongly  exhibit  some  ter- 
rible invasions  of  the  empire  from  the 
north.  The  destruction  of  trees  and 
grass,  as  naturally  represents  the  ruin- 
ous effects  cf  such  an  invasion, — the 
desolations  of  fierce  and  savage  war. 
The  Western  Roman  Empire  is  pointed 
out  by  the  phrase,  the  third  part.  A 
restraining  influence  had  been  operating 
for  some  time  upon  the  northern  barba- 
rians. The  four  angels  prevented  them 
from  "hurting  the  earth," — from  com- 
mitting injustice,  violence,  and  outrage 
upon  the  empire,  its  population,  and  re- 
sources.    But  now,  the  trumpet  alarm 


is  sounded,  and  one  of  these  angels 
withholds  his  influence,  and  this  storm 
of  hail,  fire,  and  blood,  bursts  forth. 
The  hail,  we  have  said,  indicates  a 
northern  origin  ;  and,  therefore,  we  may 
look  to  the  northeast,  where  was  sta- 
tioned one  of  the  four  angels. 

We  have  already  seen,  that  the  seventh 
seal  opened  upon  the  empire  a  view  of 
their  fearful  loss  in  the  death  of  Theo- 
dosius.  A  moment  of  breathless  expec- 
tancy in  the  church  was  followed  by  the 
shrill  and  dread  clarion  of  battle.  His- 
tory, accordingly,  reflects  back  the  light 
of  prophetic  symbols.  "  If  the  subjects 
of  Rome,"  says  Gibbon,  (chap,  xxx.) 
"  could  be  ignorant  of  their  obligations 
to  the  great  Theodosius,  they  were  soon 
convinced  how  painfully  the  spirit  and 
abilities  of  their  deceased  emperor  had 
supported  the  frail  and  mouldering  edi- 
fice of  the  republic.  He  died  in  the 
month  of  January,  and  before  the  end 
of  the  winter  of  the  same  year,  the 
Gothic  nation  was  in  arms.  The  bar- 
barian auxiliaries  erected  their  indepen- 
dent standard,  and  boldly  avowed  the 
hostile  designs  which  they  had  long  che- 
rished in  their  ferocious  minds.  Their 
countrymen,  who  had  been  condemned 
by  the  conditions  of  the  last  treaty,  to  a 
life  of  tranquillity  and  labour,  deserted 
their  farms  at  the  first  sound  of  the 
trumpet ;  [had  a  Christian  historian 
used  such  language,  the  unbelieving 
philosopher  would  have  suspected  him 
of  writing  with  his  eye  on  the  pro- 
phecy] and  eagerly  resumed  the  wea- 
pons which  they  had  reluctantly  laid 
down.  The  barriers  of  the  Danube 
were  thrown  open  ;  the  savage  warriors 
of  Scythia  issued  from  their  forests ; 
and  the  uncommon  severity  of  the  win- 
ter allowed  the  poet  to  remark,  that 
'  they  rolled  their  ponderous  wagons 
over  the  broad  and  icy  back  of  the 
indignant  river.'  The  unhappy  natives 
of  the  provinces  to  the  south  of  the 
Danube,  submitted  to  the  calamities 
which,  in  the  course  of  twenty  years, 
were  almost  grown  familiar  to  their 
imagination  ;  and  the  various  troops  of 
barbarians  who  gloried  in  the  Gothic 
name,  were  irregularly  spread  from  the 


LECTURE  XVI. 


143 


woody  shores  of  Dalmatia  to  the  walls 
of  Constantinople." 

Among    the    leaders    of  -  these    vast 
hordes  shone  conspicuous,  Alaric,  who 
had  long  served  as  a  mercenary  under 
Theodosius,  with  large  numbers  of  his 
countrymen.     In  the  Roman  armies  he 
acquired  that  military  skill  which,  when 
combined  with  his  native  courage,  made 
him  the    most  terrible    scourge    of  the 
empire :    so    that    "  The    Goths,"    con- 
tinues our  historian,  "  instead  of  being 
impelled    by  the  blind    and  headstrong 
passions  of  their  chiefs,  were  now  di- 
rected by  the  bold  and  artful  genius  of 
Alaric.       That    renowned    leader    was 
descended    from  the  noble  race  of  the 
Balfi ;  which  yielded  only  to  the  royal 
dignity  of  the  Amali  :  he  had  solicited 
the    command    of  the  Roman    armies  ; 
and  the  imperial  court  provoked  him  to 
demonstrate  the    folly  of  their  refusal, 
and  the  importance  of  their  loss.    Alaric 
disdained  to  trample  any  longer  on  the 
prostrate  and  ruined  countries  of  Thrace 
and  Dacia,  and   he  resolved  to  seek  a 
plentiful  harvest  of  fame  and  riches  in  a 
province  which  had  hitherto  escaped  the 
ravages  of  war."     The    historian  pro- 
ceeds to  detail  his  invasion  of  Greece ; 
but  we  must  present  it  in  a  more  con- 
densed form.     Alaric  traversed  without 
resistance  the  plains  of  Macedonia  and 
Thessaly,  and    poured   his  vast   troops 
through  the  Straits  of  Thermopylse,  upon 
the    rich    and    fertile    fields    of  Phocis, 
Bceotia,  Attica,  and  the  land  of  the  im- 
mortal  three   hundred  ;    but   there  was 
no  Leonidas  there;    and    the  ashes  of 
Miltiades  brooked  the  insult  of  the  bar- 
barian  host.     There  was   no   man   in 
Greece,  and  but  one  in  the  world,  who 
could    draw  a  blade,  and  brandish  his 
steel   in    the  face  of  Alaric.      Onward 
rolled  the  torrent  of  barbarian  invasion, 
over  the  Arcadian  groves,  and  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus :  then  its  refluent  wave  turned 
north,  and  swept  the  mountain  tops  of 
Elis.     But  here  it  met  a  barrier.     Stili- 
cho  had  landed  an  army  in  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth,    and    advancing   upon    Alaric, 
soon  enclosed    him    on   Mount  Pholoe, 
near  the  sources  of  the  Peneus  ;  he  cut 
off  his  supply  of  water,  and  the  fierce 


Goth,  with  the  spoils  of  Greece,  was 
completely  in  his  power,  and  must  have 
become  his  prisoner,  but  for  one  of  those 
strange  freaks  of  folly  which  sometimes 
throw  themselves  in  the  track  of  great 
men,  to  make  the  world  wonder.  Secure 
of  his  prey,  Stilicho  went  to  amuse  him- 
self with  the  theatrical  games  and  las- 
civious dances  of  the  Greeks.  Alaric 
chose  the  hour  for  making  his  escape, 
and  when  Stilicho  returned  to  look  for 
his  prey,  it  was  gone.  Alaric  was  safe 
in  Epirus  ;  and  before  the  Roman  could 
overtake  the  Goth,  an  ambassador  ar- 
rived with  a  treaty  between  Alaric  and 
Arcadius,  the  emperor  of  Constantinople: 
the  Goth  was  appointed  general  of  East- 
ern Illyricum,  and  the  Roman  was  order- 
ed to  retire  from  the  territory  of  the  East- 
ern emperor.  Arcadius  thus  rewarded, 
with  an  honourable  command,  a  revolted 
subject,  and  the  ravager  of  his  kingdom  ; 
and  prevented  the  kind  interference  of 
his  brother  Honorius,  from  saving  his 
empire  by  the  sword  of  Stilicho. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  a  peace 
bought  with  gold,  and  not  with  steel, 
was  of  short  duration.  In  a  few  months 
the  troops  of  Alaric,  fattened  upon  the 
spoils  of  Greece,  and  thoroughly  equip- 
ped from  the  exactions  made  off  the 
provinces,  lifted  up  the  captain-general 
of  Eastern  Illyricum  upon  a  shield,  and 
proclaimed  him  king  of  the  Visigoths. 

In  A.  D.  403,  Alaric  descended  upon 
Italy,  with  a  large  and  well-furnished 
army  of  infantry  and  cavalry.  Terror 
hung  around  his  van,  for  desolation  closed 
his  rear.  He  swept  over  Pannonia,  Istria, 
Venitia.  The  Adige,  the  Mincius,  and 
other  branches  of  the  Po,  presented  no 
obstacle.  Milan,  the  residence  of  the 
emperor,  was  threatened.  Consternation 
seized  the  court ; — all  hearts  failed.  But 
Stilicho  stood  the  shield  of  the  Western 
Empire,  as  he  had  nearly  proved  that  of 
the  Eastern,  against  the  same  fierce  foe. 
There  was,  however,  no  army  in  Italy 
to  stand  by  him  :  he  therefore  left  the 
court,  with  instructions  to  throw  obsta- 
cles in  the  enemy's  way,  and  evade  him 
as  they  could,  till  he  should  return  with 
a  force  fit  to  take  the  field.  He  crossed 
the  Rhetian  Alps  to  the  north  ;  arrived 


144 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


in   time   to   quell  an  insurrection  ;   and 
drew  off  the  legions  from  the  garrisons 
along  the  Rhine,  others  out  of  Gaul,  and 
even  from  the  borders  of  North  Britain. 
Meanwhile  Honorius,  the  emperor,  fled 
from  Milan,  and  being  closely  pursued 
by  the  Gothic  chief,  was  obliged  to  throw 
himself  into  a  small  town  called  Asta,  in 
Piedmont:     where   Alaric    immediately 
formed  a  siege,  pressed  it  with  great  vigor, 
and  had  already  summoned  the  town  to 
surrender,  when  the  terror  and  agony  of 
the  court  were  relieved  by  the  approach 
of  the  earnestly  desired  aid.     "  At  the 
head  of  a  chosen  and  intrepid  vanguard, 
Stilicho  swam  the  stream  of  the  Addua,  to 
gain  the  time  which  he  must  have  lost 
in  the  attack  of  the  bridge  ;  the  passage 
of  the  Po  was  an  enterprise  of  much  less 
hazard  and  difficulty  ;  and  the  successful 
action,  in  which  he  cut  his  way  through 
the  Gothic  camp  under  the  walls  of  Asta, 
revived   the    hopes    and    vindicated   the 
honour  of  Rome.     Instead  of  grasping 
the  fruit  of  his  victory,  the  barbarian  was 
gradually  invested  on  every  side,  by  the 
troops   of  the   West,  who   successively 
issued  through  all  the  passes  of  the  Alps : 
his  quarters  were  straitened,  his  convoys 
were  intercepted,  and  the  vigilance  of  the 
Romans  prepared  to  form  a  chain  of  for- 
tifications, and  to  besiege  the  lines  of  the 
besiegers."     The  battle  of  Pollentia  fol- 
lowed, in  which,  "  The  skill  of  the  gene- 
ral and  the  bravery  of  the  soldiers,  sur- 
mounted every  obstacle.    In  the  evening 
of  that  bloody  day,  the  Goths  retreated 
from  the  field  of  battle;    the  intrench- 
ments  of  their  camps  were  forced,  and 
the  scene  of  rapine  and  slaughter  made 
some  atonement  for  the  calamities  which 
they  had  inflicted  on  the  subjects  of  the 
empire.     The  magnificent  spoils  of  Co- 
rinth and  Argos,  enriched  the  veterans 
of  the  West :  the  captive  wife  of  Alaric, 
who  had  impatiently  claimed  his  promise 
of  Roman  jewels,  and   patrician  hand- 
maids, was  reduced  to  implore  the  mercy 
of  the  insulting  foe:  and  many  thousand 
prisoners  released  from  the  Gothic  chains, 
dispersed  through  the  provinces  of  Italy 
the   praises   of  their   heroic   deliverer." 
(Gibbon,  ch.  xxx.) 

Alaric    retreated,    and    directed    his 


course  through  the  Rhelian  Alps,  in- 
tending to  pour  down  the  Rhine,  and 
enter  Gaul.  But  Stilicho  prepared  for 
him  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  and  a  still 
fiercer  battle  was  fought  near  the  walls 
of  Verone,  and  the  Gothic  king  owed 
his  life  to  the  swiftness  of  his  horse. 

Jn  A.  D.  406,  another  hail-storm  burst 
in  from  the  North.  Radagaisus,  "  the 
king  of  the  confederate  Germans,  passed, 
without  resistance,  the  Alps,  the  Po,  and 
the  Apennines ;"  and  laid  siege  to  Flo- 
rence. Again  the  sword  of  Stilicho  was 
the  safeguard  of  Italy,  and  the  besiegers 
were  themselves  soon  besieged.  "  The 
proud  monarch,"  says  the  historian,  "of 
so  many  warlike  nations,  after  the  loss 
of  his  bravest  warriors,  was  reduced  to 
confide  in  the  faith  of  a  capitulation,  or 
in  the  clemency  of  Stilicho." 

A  fourth  heavy  cloud  charged  with 
"  hail,  fire,  and  blood,"  arose  in  408. 
The  indomitable  Alaric  reappeared  in 
the  dark  whirlwind,  and  ruled  the  storm. 
But  there  was  now  no  Stilicho  in  Italy, 
or  in  the  Roman  world.  This  last  of 
her  mighty  generals,  had  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  a  cruel  assassin,  armed  with  the 
authority,  or  at  least  the  timid  connivance, 
of  the  base  son  of  Theodosius.  Stilicho 
had  done  too  much  for  the  emperor  and 
for  Italy  ever  to  be  forgiven.  That  sub- 
ject to  whom  his  sovereign  is  indebted 
for  his  life  and  his  crown,  is  placed  in  a 
most  perilous  condition.  Intrigue  and 
faction  were  too  strong  for  valour  and 
heroism ;  and  he,  whom  all  the  legions 
of  the  Goths  and  the  Germans  could  not 
vanquish,  fell  before  the  murderous  blade 
of  envy  :  the  last  of  the  Romans  died 
by  the  hand  of  a  half-legalized  assassin. 

The  impassable  barrier  being  thus 
broken  down,  the  Gothic  hurricane 
swept  over  Italy  ;  and  Rome,  which  for 
six  hundred  years  had  not  seen  the  face 
of  an  enemy,  was  doomed  to  feel  the 
weight  of  the  barbarian's  sword.  She 
purchased  with  her  gold  a  short  respite, 
once  and  again,  but  in  410,  "  The  King 
of  the  Goths,  who  no  longer  dissembled 
his  appetite  for  plunder  and  revenge,  ap- 
peared in  arms  under  the  walls  of  the 
capital ;  and  the  trembling  senate,  with- 
out any  hopes,  prepared,  by  a  desperate 


LECTURE  XVI. 


145 


resistance,  to  delay  the  ruin  of  their 
country.  But  they  were  unable  to  guard 
against  the  secret  conspiracy  of  their 
slaves  and  domestics ;  who,  either  from 
birth  or  interest,  were  attached  to  the 
cause  of  the  enemy.  At  the  hour  of 
midnight,  the  Salarian  gate  was  silently 
opened,  and  the  inhabitants  were  awaked 
by  the  tremendous  sound  of  the  Gothic 
trumpet.  Eleven  hundred  and  sixty-three 
years  after  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the 
imperial  city,  which  had  subdued  and 
civilized  so  considerable  part  of  man- 
kind, was  delivered  to  the  licentious  fury 
of  the  tribes  of  Germany  and  Scythia." 
(Gibbon,  ch.  xxxi.)  Plunder,  massacre, 
and  violence  were  continued  for  six  days 
in  succession ;  during  which,  all  con- 
ceivable crimes  were  perpetrated  with 
perfect  impunity,  by  the  brutal  and  fero- 
cious soldier}7. 

Whilst  these  four  several  storms  were 
expending  their  force  upon  Italy  and 
Greece,  a  similar  fate  was  experienced 
by  Gaul  and  even  Spain.  The  Alani, 
Allemani,  Vandals,  Burgundians,  and 
Gothic  tribes  innumerable,  overran  these 
provinces,  and  permanently  established 
themselves  in  various  parts.  And  imme- 
diately subsequent  to  the  death  of  Ala- 
ric,  which  was  caused  by  disease,  a  few 
months, — perhaps  weeks  only  after  the 
sack  of  Rome — as  he  was  about  to  pass 
his  army  over  into  Sicily,  and  was  also 
meditating  thence  an  attack  upon  Africa, 
his  brother-in-law  and  successor,  Adol- 
phus,  was  taken  into  alliance  with  the 
Emperor  Honorius,  married  his  sister 
Placidia,  and  was  sent  into  Gaul  as 
master-general  of  the  Romans.  Thus 
was  Goth  played  off  against  Goth.  He 
subdued  the  Gallic  invaders,  passed  the 
Pyrenees  into  Spain,  and  was  assassi- 
nated at  Barcelona. 

Placidia,  his  widow,  was  afterwards 
married  to  Constantius,  a  Roman  gene- 
ral in  Gaul,  and  became  the  mother  of 
Valentinian  III. ;  and  after  the  death  of 
her  brother,  Honorius,  she  ruled  the 
West,  as  empress-regent  for  her  son. 
Her  two  celebrated  commanders  were 
iEtius,  the  Patrician,  in  Italy  and  Gaul, 
and  Boniface  in  Africa.  iEtius  plotted 
the  ruin  of  Boniface,  and  succeeded  in 

19 


making  it  necessary  for  him  to  revolt  to 
save  his  life.  Boniface,  to  strengthen  him- 
self, invited  over  from  Spain  Genseric,  the 
Vandal  king ;  but  soon  perceiving  that 
he  had  called  over  a  master  instead  of 
an  ally,  he  endeavoured  to  oppose  him, 
but  without  success.  This  was  in  A.  D. 
429. 

The  last  great  hail-storm  under  this 
trumpet,  is  the  invasion  of  Attila  the 
Hun.  The  Huns  sprang  from  the  in- 
terior of  northern  Asia,  and  moving 
westward  from  the  borders  of  China, 
precipitated  themselves  upon  Europe, 
and  filled  up  the  open  space  left  by  the 
various  nations  of  the  Goths  ;  they  had 
concentrated  on  the  Danube,  in  the 
country  now  called  Hungary,  under 
Rugilas,  their  leader,  whose  power  was 
acknowledged  from  the  Pontus  Euxinus, 
to  the  Hartz  mountains.  The  death  of 
this  mighty  prince  placed  the  sword  in 
the  hand  of  his  nephew,  Attila.  In 
A.  D.  451,  he  invaded  Gaul  at  the  head 
of  an  army  of  seven  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  laid  siege  to  Orleans.  iEtius, 
the  Patrician,  in  conjunction  with  Theo- 
doric,  king  of  the  Visigoths,  his  ally, 
flew  to  the  relief  of  that  important 
town.  Attila  was  forced  to  raise  the 
siege,  and  retrace  his  steps.  But  his 
retreat  was  that  of  an  angry  lion. 
iEtius  and  Theodoric  pressed  too  close- 
ly upon  his  heels  to  permit  his  escape, 
and  upon  the  field  of  Chalons,  was 
fought  the  last  great  battle  of  the  Roman 
empire,  and  there  was  won  her  last 
great  victory.  The  slaughter  of  that 
terrible  day  is  variously  estimated  by 
historians,  at  from  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  thousand,  to  three  hundred 
thousand  men.  But  this  defeat  only 
exasperated  the  Huns ;  for  towards  the 
close  of  this  very  year,  or  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  succeeding  one,  Attila 
descended  upon  Italy  ;  and  the  devasta- 
tion of  his  march  fully  justified  his 
savage  boast,  "  that  grass  never  grew 
where  his  horse's  foot  once  trod."  He 
left  Aquileia,  Padua,  and  most  of  the 
towns  of  Venitia,  heaps  of  ruins.  This 
invasion  it  was,  which  occasioned  the 
rise  of  the  modern  city  of  Venice. 
Many    fugitives    betook    themselves    to 


146 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


several  small  islands  in  the  Adriatic,  as  i 
a  refuge  from  this  "  scourge  of  God," 
and  there  laid  the  nucleus  of  the  city 
which  led  the  way  in  modern  commerce. 
Attila  ravaged  Italy  without  any  other 
opposition  than  such  diversions  as  yEtius 
was  able  to  effect,  with  an  insignificant 
force.  The  timid  emperor  and  venal  senate 
purchased  the  safety  of  Rome  by  an 
immense  sum  of  money,  given  as  the 
dower  of  Honoria,  the  sister  of  Valen- 
tinian,  who  was  to  have  been  bestowed 
upon  the  barbarous  Attila  at  a  future 
time,  according  to  his  demand.  He  re- 
turned to  his  rude  palace  beyond  the 
Danube,  added  to  his  previous  number 
another  beautiful  wife,  and  upon  that 
very  night,  by  a  hemorrhage  of  tho 
lungs,  he  was  suffocated  in  his  own 
blood.  Thus  die  away  the  terrible  peals 
of  the  first  trumpet.  It  extends  over  a 
space  of  fifty-seven  years, — from  395, 
to  452. 

TRUMPET  II. 

Verses  8,  9.  "  And  the  second  angel 
sounded,  and  as  it  were,  a  great  moun- 
tain burning  with  fire,  was  cast  into  the 
sea  ;  and  the  third  part  of  the  sea  be- 
came blood.  And  the  third  part  of  the 
creatures  which  were  in  the  sea  and 
had  life  died  :  and  the  third  part  of  the 
ships  were  destroyed." 

The  sea,  to  repeat  it  again,  presents  to 
our  view  an  agitated  multitude.  We 
may  then  expect  this  burning  mountain 
to  be  precipitated  upon  the  Roman  peo- 
ple before  they  recover  from  the  excite- 
ments occasioned  by  the  former  trumpet. 
The  Roman  earth  is  the  object  under 
consideration.  When  therefore  Rome 
is  spoken  of,  in  connexion  with  a  burn- 
ing mountain  and  the  sea,  the  mind  in- 
stantly reverts  to  the  flaming  tops  of 
Etna  and  Vesuvius,  which  lay  to  the 
south,  and  were  the  only  burning  moun- 
tains familiar  to  that  age. 

A  mountain,  in  its  firmness  and  du- 
rability, is  a  natural  emblem  of  strength; 
and  symbolizes  a  government  or  nation. 
"  The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house 
shall  be  established  on  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  and  exalted  above  the  hills, 


and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it."  (Is. 
ii.  2.)  In  other  words,  God's  kingdom 
shall  be  founded  upon,  and  hold  its 
sway  over  the  kingdoms  of  this  world, 
and  the  race  of  man  shall  be  its  sub- 
jects. 

A  mountain  on  fire,  therefore,  pre- 
cipitated in  its  burning  state  into  the  sea, 
is  powerfully  significant  of  a  kingdom 
or  nation  invading  another  by  water. 
Literally  the  effect  must  be  terrible. 

The  turning  of  the  third  part  of  the 
sea  into  blood,  and  the  destruction  of 
the  third  part  of  the  living  things  and 
ships,  betokens  extensive  devastation  by 
means  of  a  maritime  invasion. 

These  figures  are  probably  borrowed 
from  Jeremiah  li.  25,  where  he  thus 
speaks  of  Babylon ;  "  Behold  I  am 
against  thee,  O,  destroying  mountain, 
saith  the  Lord,  which  destroyeth  all  the 
earth  ;  and  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand 
upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  down  from  the 
rocks,  and  will  make  thee  a  burnt 
mountain."  The  power  which  Babylon 
was  permitted  to  exercise,  was  one  of 
God's  chastisements  upon  his  degenerate 
church.  In  like  manner,  the  power  in 
question  is  to  be  a  scourge  upon  the 
Roman  sea,  which  includes  the  church. 

This  fearful  judgment  from  the  direc- 
tion of  the  fiery  mountains,  occurred  in 
A.  D.  455.  Genseric,  the  Vandal  king 
in  Africa,  had,  by  incredible  efforts,  re- 
vived the  naval  power  of  Carthage,  and 
had  shown  for  some  time  a  disposition 
to  make  a  descent  upon  Italy.  But 
iEtius  was  there,  and  he  desisted.  In 
454,  Valentinian  assassinated  .Etius 
with  his  own  hand,  and  with  the  only 
sword  he  ever  drew  in  a  hostile  way. 
He  also  offended  Maximus,  a  very 
wealthy  Roman,  by  an  act  similar  to 
that  which  resulted  in  the  ruin  of  Tar- 
quin  the  Proud.  Maximus  procured  two 
of  the  old  soldiers  of  ^Etius,  employed 
by  the  emperor  as  household  servants, 
to  assassinate  Valentinian,  which  they 
did  openly  in  the  Campus  Martius ;  upon 
which  Maximus  was  immediately  pro- 
claimed emperor.  Eudoxia,  the  widow- 
ed empress,  secretly  invited  Genseric  to 
assault  Rome,  that  she  might  be  avenged 
on  the  murderer  of  her  husband.     This 


LECTURE  XVI. 


147 


invitation  Gcnseric  eagerly  complied 
with.  He  was  a  bigoted  Arian,  and  was 
pleased  with  an  apology  for  giving  a 
blow  to  the  opposing  part)'.  He  landed 
at  Ostia,  and  rolled,  like  a  huge  burning 
mountain,  upon  the  devoted  city.  The 
new  emperor  was  utterly  unfit  for  any 
service  ;  and  upon  making  his  appear- 
ance in  the  streets,  in  his  endeavour  to 
fly  from  the  city,  was  stoned  to  death. 
From  the  fifteenth  to  the  twenty-ninth 
of  June,  455,  Rome  was  abandoned  to 
pillage,  massacre,  and  all  possible  in- 
dignities. Every  thing  which  savage 
rapacity  could  lay  its  hands  upon,  that 
was  esteemed  sufficiently  valuable  to 
remove,  was  transported  on  board  the 
Gothic  fleet.  "  Among  the  spoils,  the 
splendid  relics  of  two  temples,  or  rather 
of  two  religions,  exhibited  a  memorable 
example  of  the  vicissitudes  of  human 
and  divine  things. — The  holy  instru- 
ments of  the  Jewish  worship,  the  golden 
table,  and  the  golden  candlestick,  with 
seven  branches,  originally  framed  ac- 
cording to  the  particular  instructions  of 
God  himself,  and  which  were  placed  in 
the  sanctuary  of  his  temple,  had  been 
ostentatiously  displayed  to  the  Roman 
people  in  the  triumph  of  Titus.  They 
were  afterwards  deposited  in  the  Temple 
of  Peace  ;  and  at  the  end  of  four  hun- 
dred years,  the  spoils  of  Jerusalem  were 
transferred  from  Rome  to  Carthage,  by 
a  barbarian  who  derived  his  origin  from 
the  shores  of  the  Baltic."  (Gibbon,  ch. 
xxxvi.)  The  Empress  Eudoxia  and  her 
two  daughters  were  among  the  captives 
carried  to  Carthage. 

This  trumpet  comprehended  not  such 
extensive  havoc  as  the  first  ;  it  was  of 
shorter  continuance,  yet  in  itself  a  fear- 
ful calamity. 

Bishop  Newton  places  this  Vandal 
invasion  under  the  third  trumpet,  inter- 
preting that  of  Attila  as  the  burning 
mountain.  In  this,  for  reasons  already 
stated,  we  deem  him  in  error.  Faber, 
M'Leod,  and  others,  place  Attila  under 
the  first,  or  hail-storm  desolations.  Mis- 
taking the  matter  of  the  first  trumpet, 
Bishop  Newton,  of  course,  will  be  in 
error  as  to  the  matter  of  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth.     According  to   him, 


therefore,  Genseric  is  the  star  of  the 
third,  and  Momyllus  the  sun  of  the 
fourth.  These  misapplications  we  will 
endeavour  to  correct  as  we  proceed. 

trumpet  in. 

Verses  10,  11.  "And  the  third  angel 
sounded,  and  there  fell  a  great  star  from 
heaven,  burning  as  it  were  a  lamp,  and 
it  fell  upon  the  third  part  of  the  rivers 
and  upon  the  fountains  of  waters,  and 
the  name  of  the  star  is  called  Worm- 
wood ;  and  the  third  part  of  the  waters 
became  wormwood,  and  men  died  of  the 
waters,  because  they  were  made  bitter." 

A  star,  as  has  been  said,  is  typical  of 
a  prince  or  ruler.  "  There  shall  come 
a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  sceptre  out  of 
Israel,"  (Num.  xxiv.  17.)  This  refers 
ultimately  to  Messiah,  the  King  of  Zion. 
Isaiah,  also,  in  addressing  Babylon,  says, 
"  How  art  thou  fallen,  O  Lucifer,  son  of 
the  morning  !  how  art  thou  cut  down  to 
the  ground,  which  didst  weaken  the  na- 
tions," (xiv.  12.) 

The  character  of  the  ruler  thus  repre- 
sented, will  depend  upon  the  matter  of 
the  subject  discussed.  If  the  heavens, 
the  location  of  the  stars,  are  used  as 
a  symbol  of  political  empire,  then  a  star 
is  a  civil  governor  or  prince  ;  if  as 
ecclesiastical,  then,  of  course,  the  star 
is  a  religious  teacher  or  ruler.  Virgil 
beautifully  employs  this  figure,  in  appli- 
cation to  an  illustrious  Roman  of  the 
Julian  family.  The  civil  government 
in  our  text,  is  the  object  of  the  trumpets, 
and  consequently,  the  great  star  is  the 
great  ruler  in  the  political  sky. 

The  falling  of  the  star  represents  the 
overturning  of  this  prince,  or  ruler: 
the  imperial:  dignity,  the  office  itself,  is 
the  thing  meant  ;  not  the  individual 
who  holds  that  office.  This  star  is  said 
to  have  been  "  lighted,  as  a  lamp  is 
lighted."  It  may,  perhaps,  be  pursuing 
the  metaphor  too  fir;  yet  we  cannot 
repress  the  notice  of  the  beautiful  adapta- 
tion of  this  phrase  to  express  a  leading 
characteristic  of  the  Roman  emperor- 
ship. It  was  throughout,  in  theory  and 
in  form,  an  elective  monarchy:  without 
the  voice  of  the  senate  and  people,  no 


143 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


emperor  was  duly  invested  with  the 
purple  ;  however  talented  and  powerful 
he  might  be,  he  was  an  unlighted  star, 
until  his  election  :  his  authority  to  rule 
must  be  derived  through  the  senate. 

Rivers,  where  by  the  earth  in  general 
is  understood  the  empire,  will  designate 
provinces,  and  fountains  will  refer  to 
the  smaller  subdivisions  :  or  if  the  earth 
be  the  body  politic,  rivers  will  represent 
the  senate,  and  fountains  the  minor 
offices  of  state. 

If  a  "  star  burning  like  a  lamp"  were 
plunged  into  water,  there  would  be  a 
hissing  noise,  an  agitation,  and  a  bitter, 
unpleasant  taste.  So  when  the  great 
and  brilliant  light  of  the  Roman  world 
was  extinguished,  it  left  these  uncom- 
fortable results. 

All  human  languages,  probably,  ex- 
press pain,  distress,  affliction,  by  a  me- 
taphor derived  from  the  sense  of  taste. 
"  The  Egyptians  made  their  lives  bit- 
4er."  Job  inquires  "  Why  is  life  given 
to  the  bitter  in  soul  V  "  I  will  complain 
in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul."  "  Surely 
the  bitterness  of  death  is  past."  "  Waters 
of  bitterness"  are  sore  distresses. 

The  star  falling  is  called  wormwood, 
— bitterness  itself, — and  the  effect  of  its 
fall  upon  the  waters,  is  to  render  them 
bitter  :  and  so  to  affect  ruinously  those 
who  drank  of  them.  Great  sufferings 
are  predicted  to  those  who  nearly  or 
more  remotely  depend  upon  the  imperial 
power  for  protection. 

Dr.  M'Leod  has  noticed  the  error  of 
Dr.  Johnston  in  applying  this  star  to  the 
bishop  of  Constantinople :  and  the  in- 
consistency of  Bishop  Newton,  in  inter- 
preting it  as  Genseric,  the  Vandal,  in 
the  very  summit  of  his  triumph.  A 
-similar  mistake  is  committed  in  the  ap- 
plication of  it  to  Napoleon,  as  first 
consul  of  the  French,  in  his  Italian 
campaign  ;  and  so  construing  the  rivers 
and  fountains  literally,  as  the  Po  and  all 
its  tributaries.  This  exposition  is  men- 
tioned simply  to  express  a  regret  that  it 
was  ever  published. 

The  true  antitype  to  this  symbol  has 
been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Mede,  whom 
Bishop  Faber,  Dr.  M'Leod,  and  others, 
follow.     Romulus  Augustus  Augustulus, 


the  last  of  the  Western  Roman  Empe- 
rors, is  this  great  fallen  star.  In  him 
the  imperial  dignity  of  Rome  terminated. 
"  The  life  of  this  inoffensive  youth," 
says  the  historian  so  frequently  referred 
to,  "  was  spared  by  the  generous  cle- 
mency of  Odoacer,  who  dismissed  him 
with  his  whole  family,  from  the  imperial 
palace,  fixed  his  annual  allowance  at  six 
thousand  pieces  of  gold,  and  assigned 
the  castle  of  Lucullus  in  Campania,  for 
the  place  of  his  exile  or  retirement." 

The  various  Gothic  tribes  who  occu- 
pied the  fortresses  of  Italy,  as  mercenary 
troops,  in  the  pay  of  the  emperor,  be- 
came impatient  to  obtain  a  fixed  abode, 
and  petitioned  Orestes,  the  father  of 
Romulus  Augustus,  who  had  procured 
the  imperial  dignity  for  his  son,  but  who 
was  himself  really  the  ruler  of  Italy, 
that  he  would  bestow  upon  them  one- 
third  of  all  the  lands  in  Italy.  Orestes 
refused  ;  upon  which  Odoacer,  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  Gothic  leaders,  bade 
defiance  to  the  Romans,  concentrated 
all  the  barbarian  mercenaries  into  one 
army,  attacked  Orestes  and  the  emperor 
in  Paria,  took  the  town  by  assault,  slew 
Orestes,  deposed  his  son,  as  above  stated, 
and  proclaimed  himself  king  of  Italy. 
Thus  the  last  emperor,  uniting  in  him- 
self the  name  of  Rome's  founder  and 
that  of  her  first  emperor,  let  fall  from 
his  nerveless  grasp,  the  sceptre  of  the 
Western  world.  Thus  "  the  star  of 
empire,"  which  had  dazzled  the  eyes  of 
mankind  from  the  rising  of  the  Julian 
constellation,  in  the  person  of  Augustus, 
sank  for  ever  in  the  darkness  of  barba- 
rian night.  "  This  great  revolution  hap- 
pened in  the  West  in  the  year  476  of 
the  Christian  era,  five  hundred  and 
seven  years  after  the  battle  of  Actium, 
when  the  Roman  monarchy  was  first  esta- 
blished, and  one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  twenty-four  years  since  the  founda- 
tion of  Rome."  (Univ.  Hist.  xiv.  438.) 

The  state  of  Europe  immediately  after 
the  fall  of  the  imperial  star,  was  long  re- 
volutionary. There  was  no  settled  peace. 
War  after  war  desolated  the  earth.  The 
fountains  of  power  lay  in  the  will  of 
military  chieftains,  and  sent  forth  the 
turbid  waters  of  ambitious  strife ;    and 


LECTURE  XVI. 


149 


the  nations  quaffed  in  the  bitterness  of 
their  souls.  "  In  the  divisions  and  the 
decline  of  the  empire,"  says  the  histo- 
rian, "  the  tributary  harvests  of  Egypt 
and  Africa  were  withdrawn:  the  num- 
bers of  the  inhabitants  continually  di- 
minished with  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  the  country  was  exhausted  by  the 
irretrievable  losses  of  war,  famine,  and 
pestilence.  St.  Ambrose  has  deplored  the 
ruin  of  a  populous  district  which  had  been 
once  adorned  with  the  populous  cities 
of  Bologna,  Modena,  Regiurn.  and  Pla- 
centia.  Pope  Gelacius  was  a  subject  of 
Odoacer,  and  he  affirms,  with  strong 
exaggeration,  that  in  iEmilia,  Tuscany, 
and  the  adjacent  provinces,  the  human 
species  was  almost  extirpated." 

TRUMPET  IV. 

Verse  4.  "  And  the  fourth  angel  sound- 
ed, and  the  third  part  of  the  sun  was 
smitten,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon, 
and  the  third  part  of  the  stars  ;  so  as  the 
third  part  of  them  was  darkened,  and 
the  day  shone  not  for  a  third  part  of  it, 
and  the  night  likewise." 

The  sun  is  the  ruler  of  the  day,  as 
the  moon  and  stars  are  of  the  night. 
These  luminaries,  therefore,  are  apt  re- 
presentations of  governmental  power  in 
the  political  firmament.  From  the  days 
of  Romulus,  the  Roman  senate  was  the 
sun  of  the  Roman  system ;  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  all  the  other  offices,  sub- 
ordinate and  dependent. 

The  Roman  senate  governed  the  Ro- 
man world,  under  all  forms  of  its  ad- 
ministration. Such  is  the  undoubted 
theory,  and  the  general  fact.  True,  the 
pretorian  cohorts,  the  standing  army 
in  the  pay  of  the  emperors,  upon  their 
demise,  did  often  dictate  to  the  senate 
and  people,  who  could  do  nothing  but 
echo  back  the  shout  of  the  camp.  So 
also  did  the  barbarian  invaders.  Still 
the  senate  was  the  sun,  however  ob- 
scured, of  the  system. 

The  consular  power  may  fitly  be  sym- 
bolized by  the  moon  ;  and  the  stars,  in 
this  connexion,  are  the  inferior  magis- 
trates. Isaiah  thus  describes  the  down- 
fall  of    Babylon.     "  For   the   stars   of 


heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof 
shall  not  give  their  light ;  the  sun  shall 
be  darkened  in  his  going  forth,  and  the 
moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine." 
(xiii.  10.) 

Babylon  is  illustriously,  as  we  shall 
see,  a  type  of  Rome.  "  The  political 
heaven,  although  shaken  (by  the  third 
trumpet),  was  not  yet  moved ;  neither 
were  all  its  lights  extinguished.  In  the 
time  of  Odoacer,  the  Roman  senate,  the 
consuls,  and  other  magistrates,  were  only 
subjected  to  a  suspension  for  two  years. 
When  Theodoric  founded,  in  the  year 
498,  the  Gothic  kingdom  of  Italy,  he 
permitted  Rome  to  maintain,  in  its  an- 
cient government,  some  appearances  of 
its  former  splendour.  It  was  in  the  year 
566,  after  a  series  of  bloody  and  doubt- 
ful wars,  that  Italy  was  reduced  into  the 
provincial  form  by  the  Emperor  of  the 
East;  the  whole  form  of  Roman  govern- 
ment was  abolished  ;  the  senate  and  con- 
suls, and  other  magistrates  of  Rome  en- 
tirely put  down ;  and  the  proud  city,  the 
queen  of  the  nations,  was  reduced  into 
the  miserable  condition  of  a  tributary 
dukedom."  (McLeod's  Lectures,  p.  138.) 

In  closing  this  lengthened  lecture,  we 
would  recur  again  to  the  truth  which,  in 
pursuing  the  thread  of  prophecy  and  of 
history,  we  are  too  prone  to  forget.  Our 
attention  is  called  to  the  darkened  sun, 
the  waning  moon,  the  falling  stars,  the 
rocking  mountain,  the  heaving  ocean, 
the  trembling  earth  :  emotions  powerful, 
overwhelming,  agitate  our  bosoms,  and 
we  can  scarcely  collect  our  thoughts 
sufficiently  to  inquire,  why  all  these 
amazing  revolutions  1  Amid  this  wild 
confusion,  where  is  the  God  of  order? 
Has  the  Grand  Mover  indeed  resigned 
the  helm  of  the  universe,  and  abandon- 
ed the  world  to  this  elemental  strife? 

On  the  contrary,  He  who  silteth  on 
the  circle  of  the  heavens,  guides  the 
tempest.  He  "  dashes  the  potsherds  of 
the  earth  against  the  potsherds  of  the 
earth,"  for  mutual  destruction,  that  he 
may  remove  every  obstacle  out  of  the 
way;  and  that  he  may  prepare  for  the 
extension  of  that  kingdom,  whose  sway 
shall  be  limitless. 

But  it  will  be  said  that  the  church 


150 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


suffers  in  these  commotions.  So  did  she 
in  the  bondage  of  Egypt  and  of  Babylon  ; 
so  did  she  amid  the  agonies  of  Pagan 
persecution.  But  in  this  very  thing  God 
had  a  purpose  to  perform.  Chastisement 
was  necessary,  for  she  had  degenerated 
into  various  heresies.  Many  of  her  mem- 
bers had  denied  the  deity  of  Jesus,  and 
he  now  demonstrated  it  in  the  blood  of 
the  nations.  Alaric  and  Attila,  Genseric 
and  Odoacer  were  semi-barbarians,  who 
had  embraced  the  cold-blooded  heresy 
of  Arius.  Their  swords  were  anointed 
with  the  oil  of  Arian  love. 

We  may  hence  learn  what  the  church 
and  the  world  have  to  expect,  whenever 
and  wherever  a. totally  corrupted  Chris- 
tianity shall  gain  the  ascendant.  Heresy 
in  the  minority  is  the  sleeping  anaconda  : 
heresy  in  the  majority  is  the  roused  mon- 
ster, tightening  his  silvery  folds  around 
the  crushed  bosom,  and  the  quivering 
heart  of  "  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife." 
Let  infidelity  with  its  chameleon  hues, 
Unitarianism,  the  present  form  of  Arian- 
ism,  Universalism,  Deism,  Agrarianism, 
— let  these  attain  the  majority  in  the 
land,  and  the  monster  is  awake, — his 
eyes  darting  the  fire  of  a  Voltaire,  his 
tongue  utteri'ng  the  blasphemy  of  a  Paine, 
he  will  spring  upon  his  victim,  and,  in 
his  withering  grasp,  she  will  die. 

But  this  shall  not  be.  God  has  guarded 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  hitherto, — he 
will  guard  it  to  the  end.  His  ministers 
are  full  of  eyes  ;  the  trumpet  is  at  their 
mouth  ;  the  sword  is  in  their  hand  ;  and 
while  they  do  their  duty,  the  republic  is 
safe. 


LECTURE  XVII. 

THE  FIRST  WOE  TRUMPET,  OR  SARACENIC 
LOCUSTS. 

"  Shall  a  trumpet  be  blown  in  the  city,  and 
the  people  not  be  afraid  ?  Shall  there  be  evil  in 
the  city  and  the  Lord  hath  done  it?  Surely 
the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing,  but  he  revealeth 
his  secret  unto  his  servants  the  prophets. 

"And  I  beheld,  and  heard  an  angel  flying 
through  the  midst  of  heaven,  saying  with  a  loud 


voice,  Woe,  woe,  woe  to  the  inhabiters  of  the 
earth,  by  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the  trum- 
pet, of  the  three  angels,  which  are  yet  to  sound."' 
— Rev.  viii.  13;  ix.  12. 

This  angel  who  announces  the  three 
woes,  manifestly  represents  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  who  in  their  various  places 
warned  the  people  of  the  empire  of  the 
coming  desolations  of  war.  In  accord- 
ance with  this,  there  were  many  minis- 
ters in  the  army,  at  the  terrible  battle  of 
Yermouk,  mentioned  in  a  previous  lec- 
ture; and  as  the  lines  came  together  in 
close  fight,  "  such,"  says  Price,  in  his 
Mohammedan  History,  i.  80,  "  is  repre- 
sented to  have  been  the  noise  occasioned 
by  the  mingled  clamours  of  the  priests 
chaunting  their  gospels,  and  the  motions 
of  their  beads  and  chaplets,  as  to  have 
been  compared  to  the  distant  roll  of 
thunder."  Besides,  there  was  a  conside- 
rable remnant  of  true  Christian  ministers 
spread  through  the  empire,  and  especially 
in  the  provinces,  who  lifted  up  their 
voices  like  a  trumpet,  and  warned  the 
world  against  the  coming  wrath,  on  ac- 
count of  the  general  spread  of  Arianism, 
Pelagianism,  and  image-worship.  These 
woes  are  to  fall  upon  the  inhabiters  of 
the  Roman  earth:  and  they  indicate  still 
more  fearful  destruction  than  the  four 
preceding  trumpets.  The  fourth,  as  we 
have  seen,  announced  the  entire  dissolu- 
tion of  the  old  Roman  fabric:  the  senate, 
the  imperial  dignity,  the  consulship,  the 
inferior  magistracy  as  dependent  on  them, 
all  passed  away ;  and  in  A.  D.  566,  Rome 
became  a  province  of  the  Eastern  Em- 
pire. 

The  fifth  trumpet  we  are  to  look  for 
after  the  fourth.  Ch.  ix.  1,  "And  the 
fifth  angel  sounded  ;  and  I  saw  a  star 
fall  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  ;  and  to 
him  was  given- the  key  of  the  bottomless 
pit.  And  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit: 
and  there  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit, 
as  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace;  and 
the  sun  and  air  were  darkened  by  reason 
of  the  smoke  of  the  pit." 

This  chapter  extends  over  the  pre- 
script history  of  Mohammedan  impos- 
ture, from  its  rise  in  A.  D.  606,  until  it 
attained  its  utmost  height  in  A.  D.  1672. 
But  this  period  of  ten  hundred  and  sixty- 


LECTURE  XVH. 


151 


six  years,  is  divided  into  three  parts:  the 
Saracenic  invasion,  the  Turkish  in- 
vasion, and  the  space  that  intervened 
between  the  summit  of  Saracenic  power, 
and  the  rise  of  the  Turkish.  The  first 
period  comprehends  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ;  from  G12  to  762,  when  the 
Caliph  Almanzor  built  Bagdad,  and 
ceased  from  conquest.  The  second  ex- 
tends to  1281,  when  the  Ottoman  Turks 
wrested  Cutahi  from  the  Greek  emperor, 
which  was  their  first  permanentconquest. 
This  space  of  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  years  is  intermediate  between  the 
trumpets.  The  third  is  from  1281  to 
1672,  when  Kameneic,  in  Podolia  sur- 
rendered to  the  Sultan's  bashaw,  which 
was  the  last  conquest  of  the  Turks. 

As  to  the  first  of  these,  detail  is  un- 
necessary here,  for  we  have  already 
traced  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Sara- 
cenic locusts,  until  the  conquest  of  Je- 
rusalem, by  the  Caliph  Omar,  in  April 
637,  with  a  glance  at  the  fall  of  Antioch, 
Tyre,  Alexandria,  Memphis,  and  all 
Egypt.  All  that  is  necessary  farther  to 
be  said  on  this  part,  is  simply  an  occa- 
sional word  upon  the  language  of  the  text. 

Verse  1.  The  fallen  star  is  the  Nes- 
torian  monk  Sergius,  called  by  Arab 
writers  Boheira.  According  to  the  Mos- 
lem historians,  "upon  Mohammed's  first 
approach  to  Boheira,  the  monk  observed 
a  sort  of  luminous  or  transparent  cloud 
round  his  head,  that  preserved  him  from 
the  solar  rays ;  as  also,  that  the  dry 
trees,  on  which  he  sat,  were  every  where 
covered  instantly  with  green  leaves  that 
served  him  for  a  shade;  certain  signs 
that  the  prophetic  dignity  resided  in 
him."  (Univ.  Hist.  xix.  15.)  Many 
such  fables  they  relate,  plainly  showing 
that  Boheira's  agency  in  framing  the 
whole  system  was  not  small.  The  Ko- 
ran itself  contains  abundant  internal 
evidence  of  its  selection  from  Jewish 
and  Christian  opinions,  to  a  great  extent. 

The  key  given  to  this  fallen  star,  is 
the  means  he  possessed,  of  opening 
upon  the  world  the  bottomless  pit, — the 
abyss  of  this  system  of  abominations ; 
and  of  course  his  opening  the  abyss  is 
the  concocting  and  digesting  of  this 
scheme  of  error. 


The  smoke  of  the  abyss,  is  the  er- 
roneous doctrines  of  the  Koran,  which 
darkened  the  sun  and  the  air,  produced 
obscurity  and  confusion  among  the  peo- 
ple, and  eclipsed  the  glory  of  the  Greek 
empire. 

Verse  3,  describes  the  manner  in 
which  the  locusts  came  out  of  the  smoke. 
"  And  there  came  out  of  the  smoke  lo- 
custs upon  the  earth  ;  and  unto  them 
was  given  power,  as  the  scorpions  of  the 
earth  have  power."  The  Saracenic  ar- 
mies were  collected  and  organized  by 
the  immediate  influence  of  the  system 
of  false  doctrine.  It  was  religious  fa- 
naticism that  created  them. 

In  verse  4,  the  object  against  which 
the  locusts  had  a  commission  is  pointed 
out.  "  And  it  was  commanded  them 
that  they  should  not  hurt  the  grass  of 
the  earth,  neither  any  green  thing,  nei- 
ther any  tree  ;  but  only  those  men  which 
have  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  fore- 
heads." Many  commentators  seek  a  li- 
teral application  of  this,  and  their  search 
is  successful.  The  Saracenic  invasion 
was  remarkably  different  from  those  of 
the  northern  barbarians.  The  Prophet 
and  the  Caliphs  always  gave  special  in- 
structions to  their  generals-to  spare  the 
country,  and  especially  not  to  destroy 
the  palm-trees.  There  are  very  natural 
reasons  for  this.  The  palm-tree  is  of 
slow  growth  and  very  valuable  on  ac- 
count of  its  fruit.  The  sandy  deserts 
of  Arabia  are  extremely  destitute  of 
trees,  and  therefore,  the  habits  of  the 
Arabs  led  to  their  careful  preservation. 
This  was  not  the  case  with  regard  to  the 
northern  invaders  of  the  civilized  world. 
But  this  literal  accomplishment  is  pro- 
bably not  the  chief  thing  designed.  As 
the  locusts  are  a  figure  of  the  horsemen, 
so  ought  we  to  understand  the  grass  and 
trees  to  be  the  people  whom  they  invaded. 
The  precise  object  of  their  mission  is  not 
to  destroy  and  cut  off  men  as  natural 
subjects  of  government.  It  is  not  men 
as  men,  but  as  rejecters  of  the  true  re- 
ligion, "who  have  not  the  seal  of  God 
in  their  foreheads,"  who  do  not  give  open 
evidence  that  they  hold  the  truth  in  the 
love  of  it.  Infidels  and  nominal  Chris- 
tians are  the  objects  of  the  trumpet. 


152 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


It  may  be  well  here  to  advert  to  a  few 
of  the  leading  heresies  which  corrupted 
the  doctrine  and  the  morals  of  the  church, 
and  so  made  this  Saracenic  scourge  ne- 
cessary. 

Arianism  has  been  mentioned  more 
than  once.  It  was  the  ancient  form  of 
Unitarianism,  and  constituted  one  lead- 
ing feature  of  Mohammedanism.  It  ap- 
peared early  in  the  fourth  century,  and 
spread  over  most  of  the  East,  along  the 
African  coast,  and  also  to  the  north. 

The  Nestorian  heresy  arose  about  a 
hundred  years  later.  It  took  its  name 
from  Nestorius,  a  proud  and  impious 
bishop  of  Constantinople.  This  sect 
maintained  such  a  distinction  between 
the  human  and  the  divine  natures  in  our 
Saviour,  as  amounted  to  a  denial  of  the 
hypostatic  or  personal  union,  alleging 
that  the  Godhead  dwelt  in,  and  was 
united  to,  the  man  Jesus,  only  by  ivill 
and  consent.  It  prevailed  to  a  vast  ex- 
tent over  the  East. 

Opposed  to  this,  and  having  its  origin 
nearly  at  the  same  time,  was  the  Euty- 
chian  heresy  ;  or,  as  it  might  be  called, 
the  Monophysite,  which  denied  the  dis- 
tinctness of  the  divine  and  the  human 
natures,  but  maintained  that  they  blended 
and  coalesced  into  one. 

The  most  fatal,  however,  of  all  the 
errors  of  this  age  was  Pelagian  ism,  not 
because  it  was  the  most  glaring  depar- 
ture from  truth,  but  because  it  preserved 
a  semblance  of  truth  and  piety,  whilst 
it  undermined  the  whole  fabric  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  appeared  late  in  the  fourth 
and  early  in  the  fifth  century.  "  These 
monks,  Pelagius  and  his  friend  Celestius, 
looked  upon  the  doctrines  which  were 
commonly  received  concerning  the  ori- 
ginal  corruption  of  human  nature,  and 
the  necessity  of  divine  grace  to  enlighten 
the  understanding  and  purify  the  heart, 
as  prejudicial  to  the  progress  of  holiness 
and  virtue,  and  tending  to  lull  mankind 
in  a  presumptuous  and  fatal  security. 
They  maintained  that  these  doctrines 
were  as  false  as  they  were  pernicious  ; 
that  the  sins  of  our  first  parents  were 
imputed  to  them  alone,  and  not  to  their 
posterity ;  that  we  derive  no  corruption 
from  their  fall,  but  are  born  as  pure  and 


unspotted  as  Adam  came  out  of  the  form- 
ing hand  of  his  Creator ;  that  mankind 
therefore,  are  capable  of  repentance  and 
amendment,  and  of  arriving  to  the  high- 
est degree  of"  piety  and  virtue  by  the  use 
of  their  natural  faculties  and  powers ; 
that  indeed,  external  grace  is  necessary 
to  excite  their  endeavours,  but  that  they 
have  no  need  of  the  internal  succours 
of  the  Divine  Spirit."  (Mosheim  i.  391 .) 
This  heresy  was  exceedingly  popular, 
for  it  accorded  precisely  with  all  the  feel- 
ings of  proud  and  corrupt  human  nature. 
Combined  in  various  degrees  with  others, 
it  reduced  the  church  to  a  state  of  fear- 
ful degeneracy,  and  rendered  it  highly 
consistent  with  God's  government  to  lay 
a  heavy  scourge  upon  her. 

Yet  the  Christians  were  not  to  be 
destroyed  and  utterly  cut  off,  but  only 
greatly  afflicted  for  five  months ; — that 
is,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  or 
years.  It  was,  therefore,  just  that  space 
of  time  from  the  first  public  efforts  of 
Mohammed  until  the  last  conquests  of 
the  Saracens. 

Verse  6,  represents  the  extreme  dis- 
tress of  the  times  :  "  And  in  those  days 
shall  men  seek  death,  and  shall  not  find 
it ;  and  shall  desire  to  die,  and  death 
shall  flee  from  them." 

Verse  7,  compares  the  natural  locusts 
to  horses,  and  the  resemblance  has  often 
been  noticed.  "  And  the  shapes  of  the 
locusts  were  like  unto  horses  prepared 
unto  battle ;  and  on  their  heads  were  as 
it  were  crowns  like  gold,  and  their  faces 
were  as  the  faces  of  men."  These 
horsemen  had  also  crowns  like  gold. 
This  refers  to  their  turbans  or  mitres. 
Bishop  Newton  quotes  Pliny,  and  other 
old  writers,  in  proof  that  the  Arabs 
always  wore  a  kind  of  crown,  or  turban, 
which  is  their  well-known  custom  at  the 
present  day.  In  verse  8,  their  long 
hair  is  spoken  of,  and  yet,  notwithstand- 
ing this  feminine  characteristic,  they  are 
fearful  destroyers ;  which  is  exhibited 
under  the  idea  of"  teeth  as  the  teeth  of 
lions."  Verse  9,  gives  a  description  of 
their  defensive  armour.  "  And  they 
had  breastplates,  as  it  were  breastplates 
of  iron  ;  and  the  sound  of  their  wings 
was  as  the  sound  of  chariots  of  many 


LECTURE  XVII. 


153 


horses  running  to  battle."    The  rapidity 
of  the  Saracenic  conquests  is  represented 
by  the  wings  of  the   locusts.     As    the 
natural    animals  fly  in  vast  clouds,  so 
as  literally  to  darken  the  air,  and  make 
a  great  sound  ;  so,  in  the  charges  of  the 
Saracenic  cavalry,  their  chief  force,  they 
flew    and    swept    over   the    earth.       In 
verse  10,  allusion  is  made  again  to  their 
scorpion-like  tails,  or  the  poisonous  and 
pestilential  doctrines,  which  they  every 
where   left    in    their   train,    and   which 
were  ever  productive  of  the  most  dis- 
tressing and  painful  consequence  to  the 
degenerate    church.      "  And    they    had 
tails  like  unto  scorpions,  and  there  were 
stings  in  their    tails  :    and  their  power 
was  to  hurt  men  five  months."     Verse 
11.  "And  they  had  a  king  over  them, 
which  is  the  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit, 
whose  name  in   the  Hebrew  tongue  is 
Abaddon,  but  in  the  Greek  tongue  hath 
his   name  Apollyon."     The   abyss,  or 
bottomless   pit,  is   the  seat  and   source 
of  the    smoke  :    and    the  angel   of  the 
abyss,  is  he  who  issues  forth  with  the 
smoke.     He  who  opens  the   door  is   a 
different    person.      This    last   we    have 
seen  to  be  Sergius.     Mohammed  could 
not  write, — he  could  not  open  the  pit  of 
his  own  evil  machinations  :  he  was  in- 
spired by  Satan,  whose   prison   is   the 
abyss  :    but  it  was  not  until  the  fallen 
star  opened  the  door,  by  his  learning, 
that   Mohammed's    demoniacal    inspira- 
tions   could    burst    forth.      The    power 
which    rules    for   destruction    has    his 
name,    Abaddon,    which    in    Greek    is 
Apollyon,  and  in  English  means  a  de- 
stroyer.    Manifestly,  he  who  regulates, 
impels,  guides  these  ferocious  hosts  of 
death,   is    their   king.     But  who  is  it? 
Satan, — Mohammed, — Napoleon   Bona- 
parte,— or  the    Mohammedan    religious 
system,  as  incarnate,  first  in  Mohammed 
himself,  and  then  in  the  caliphs  ? 

In  regard  to  the  first,  there  can  be  no 
substantial  difference  between  it  and  the 
last.  It  may,  with  perfect  truth,  be 
affirmed,  that  Satan  is  the  destroyer, 
and  the  king  of  the  Saracens.  From 
him  came  the  religious  system,  and  he 
ruled  in  the  caliphs. 

As  to  the  second,  Mohammed,  consi- 

'       20 


dered  as  a  man,  was  not  king :  the 
ruling  power  he  held  and  exercised  for 
the  time.  In  this  sense  as  being  the 
incarnation  of  Satan  and  his  corrupt 
system  of  religion,  we  have  no  objection 
to  the  affirmation  that  Mohammed  was 
Apollyon  :  for  in  this  sense,  Apollyon 
did  not  die  with  the  man. 

The  third  inquiry  raises  the  question 
of  applying  this  woe  trumpet  to  the 
French  Revolution.  But  this  exposition 
seems  so  ineffably  absurd,  that  we  might, 
with  equal  justice,  appropriate  the  name 
Apollyon  to  the  commentator  who  has 
advanced  it  as  to  Bonaparte  ;  for  he  is 
as  much  a  destroyer  of  the  sound  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture  as  was  the  latter 
of  those  who  had  not  the  seal  of  God  in 
their  forehead. 

We  decide  then  upon  the  last  power. 
This  destroying  king  is  the  religious  sys- 
tem of  Mohammedanism,  whose  visible 
form  was  embodied  in  the  caliph.  This 
officer,  as  the  incarnation  of  the  religion, 
is  Abaddon.  Life  and  death  were  his. 
Destruction  always  followed  his  orders 
to  destroy. 

After  this  brief  exposition,  let  us  take 
a  rapid  glance  at  the  history,  resuming 
from  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Caliph  Omar,  in  April,  637. 

In  638,  the  remaining  towns  and  for- 
tresses of  Syria  fell  under  the  power  of 
Omar :  and  Amru,  his  general,  marched 
upon  Egypt.  Mesr,  the  ancient  Mem- 
phis, presented  little  resistance,  and 
finally,  "  Alexandria  is  taken  by  the 
Arabs,  under  the  command  of  Amru 
Ebn  Al  As,  on  Friday,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  month  Al  Moharrem,  and  the 
twentieth  year  of  the  Hegira,  after  they 
had  besieged  it  fourteen  months,  and 
lost  before  it  twenty-three  thousand 
men."  (Univ.  Hist.  xix.  329.)  It  was 
twice  retaken  by  the  Greeks,  but  event- 
ually passed  with  all  Egypt,  into  the 
power  of  the  Saracens.  (See  id.  344, 354.) 
In  647,  the  conquest  of  Africa,  from 
Alexandria  to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  was 
undertaken ;  and  Abdallah,  who  suc- 
ceeded Amru  in  Egypt,  marched  on  that 
expedition  with  an  army  of  forty  thou- 
sand men.  They  took  Tripoli,  penetrated 
al  most  to  Carthage,  and  returned  to  Egypt . 


154 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Another  expedition,  under  Akba,  in 
665,  was  yet  more  successful,  and  pene- 
trated to  the  Atlantic.  Still  it  was  not 
until  near  the  close  of  this  century,  that 
all  northern  Africa  was  finally  and  per- 
manently brought  under  the  spear  of  the 
Arab,  in  the  hand  of  Hassan. 

They  passed  in  714  into  Spain,  and 
subverted  the  kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  ; 
which  had  subsisted  for  nearly  three 
centuries.  Thence  they  were  about  to 
cross  the  Pyrenees  into  France,  under 
their  fierce  and  ambitious  commander 
Muta,  who  had  laid  his  plan  to  sweep 
over  France,  Italy,  Illyricum,  and  Con- 
stantinople, thus  encircling  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  but  having  fallen  under  the  sus- 
picion of  ambitious  designs  inconsistent 
with  the  glory  of  the  Caliph,  he  was 
ordered  home,  and  died  in  exile  of  a 
broken  heart. 

In  732,  they  again  poured  into  France 
from  the  south,  under  the  command  of 
Abderame,  and  overran  all  the  south- 
west. "  A  victorious  line  of  march," 
says  Gibbon,  "  had  been  prolonged 
above  a  thousand  miles  from  the  rock 
of  Gibraltar  to  the  banks  of  the  Loire  ; 
the  repetition  of  an  equal  space  would 
have  carried  the  Saracens  to  the  con- 
fines of  Poland  and  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland:  the  Rhine  is  not  more  im- 
passable than  the  Nile  or  the  Euphrates, 
and  the  Arabian  fleet  might  have  sailed 
without  a  naval  combat  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames.  Perhaps  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Koran  would  now  be  taught 
in  the  schools  of  Oxford,  and  her  pulpits 
might  demonstrate  to  a  circumcised  peo- 
ple the  sanctity  and  truth  of  the  revela- 
tion of  Mahomet." 

From  such  calamities  was  Christen- 
dom delivered  by  the  genius  and  for- 
tunes of  one  man.  Charles,  the  illegiti- 
mate son  of  the  elder  Pepin,  was  content 
with  the  titles  of  Mayor  or  Duke  of  the 
Franks ;  but  he  deserved  to  become  the 
father  of  a  line  of  kings.  In  a  laborious 
administration  of  twenty-four  years,  he 
restored  and  supported  the  dignity  of  the 
throne,  and  the  rebels  of  Germany  and 
Gaul  were  successively  crushed  'by  the 
activity  of  a  warrior,  who,  in  the  same 
campaign,  could  display  his  banner  on 


the  Elbe,  the  Rhone,  and  the  shores  of 
the  ocean.  In  the  public  danger,  he 
was  summoned  by  the  voice  of  his 
country ;  and  his  rival,  the  Duke  of 
Aquitaine,  was  reduced  to  appear  among 
the  fugitives  and  suppliants.  "  Alas," 
exclaimed  the  Franks,  "  what  a  misfor- 
tune !  What  an  indignity  !  We  have  long 
heard  of  the  name  and  conquests  of  the 
Arabs ;  we  were  apprehensive  of  their 
attack  from  the  east ;  they  have  now 
conquered  Spain  and  invade  our  country 
on  the  side  of  the  west.  Yet  their  num- 
bers, and  (since  they  have  no  bucklers) 
their  arms,  are  inferior  to  our  own." 
"  If  you  follow  my  advice,"  replied  the 
prudent  mayor  of  the  palace,  "  you  will 
not  interrupt  their  march,  nor  precipi- 
tate your  attack.  They  are  like  a  tor- 
rent, which  it  is  dangerous  to  stem  in  its 
career.  The  thirst  of  riches,  and  the 
consciousness  of  success,  redouble  their 
valour;  and  valour  is  of  more  avail  than 
arms  or  numbers.  Be  patient  till  they 
have  loaded  themselves  with  the  incum- 
brance of  wealth.  The  possession  of 
wealth  will  divide  their  counsels,  and 
ensure  your  victory."  Pursuing  this 
policy,  Charles  kept  aloof:  but  he  spent 
not  the  time  in  sloth  or  timid  conceal- 
ment. Every  nerve  was  strained  to 
collect  an  army.  The  German,  the 
Swiss,  and  the  Frank,  thronged  to  his 
standard.  "  No  sooner,"  continues  the 
eloquent  historian,  "  had  he  collected 
his  forces,  than  he  sought  and  found  the 
enemy  in  the  centre  of  France,  between 
Tours  and  Poictiers,  (about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  miles,  southwest  of  Paris.) 
His  well-conducted  march  was  covered 
by  a  range  of  hills,  and  Abderame  ap- 
pears to  have  been  surprised  by  his  un- 
expected presence.  The  nations  of  Asia, 
Africa,  and  Europe,  advanced  with  equal 
ardour  to  an  encounter,  which  would 
change  the  history  of  the  world.  In  the 
first  six  days  of  desultory  combat,  the 
horsemen  and  archers  of  the  East  main- 
tained their  advantage  :  but  in  the  close 
onset  of  the  seventh  day,  the  Orientals 
were  oppressed  by  the  strength  and 
stature  of  the  Germans,  who,  with  stout 
hearts,  and  iron  hands,  asserted  the 
civil  and  religious  freedom  of  their  pos- 


LECTURE  XVII. 


155 


terity.  After  a  bloody  fight,  in  which 
Abderame  was  slain,  the  Saracens,  in 
the  close  of  the  evening,  retired  to  their 
camp."  The  historian,  after  telling  us 
that  the  Arab  leaders  quarrelled  among 
themselves  and  decamped  in  the  night, 
proceeds  : — "  The  joyful  tidings  were 
soon  diffused  over  the  Catholic  world ; 
and  the  monks  of  Italy  could  affirm  and 
believe,  that  three  hundred  and  fifty,  or 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand 
of  the  Mahometans  had  been  crushed  by 
the  hammer  of  Charles  ;  while  no  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  Christians  had  been 
slain  in  the  field  of  Tours."  This  is 
extravagant ;  but  however  be  the  num- 
bers, "  the  victory  of  the  Franks  was 
complete  and  final :  Aquitainc  was  re- 
covered by  the  arms  of  Eudes ;  the 
Arabs  never  resumed  the  conquest  of 
Gaul,  and  they  were  soon  driven  beyond 
the  Pyrenees  by  Charles  Martel,  and  his 
valiant  race."  From  this  glorious  vic- 
tory, he  was  surnamed  Martel,  or  the 
Maul. 

In  the  year  762,  after  various  severe 
battles,  chiefly  for  the  suppression  of  in- 
surrections and  the  completion  and  se- 
curity of  conquests,  partly  achieved  be- 
fore, the  Caliph  Almanzor  founded  the 
city  of  Bagdad,  on  the  Tigris,  called  it 
the  city  of  peace,  and  made  it  the  seat  of 
Mohammedan  power,  which  it  proved  to 
be  in  his  own  dynasty  for  five  hundred 
years.  (See  Gibbon,  ch.  xiii.) 

Thus,  from  the  first  public  preaching 
of  Mohammed, — the  issuing  forth  of  the 
smoke  and  the  locusts  in  612,  until  the 
year  762,  when  the  Saracenic  conquests 
ceased,  and  their  government  settled 
down  into  a  specific  form,  is  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years ;  equal  to  five  pro- 
phetic months.  Again  the  mirror  of 
history  throws  back  upon  our  delighted 
vision,  the  images  of  prophetic  revela- 
tion. 

This  striking  coincidence  renders  it 
proper,  that  we  should  again  remark, 
the  strong  proof  for  the  divine  inspira- 
tion of  this  book  and  consequently  of 
the  system  of  prophecy  !  We  have  in- 
dubitable evidence  of  the  existence  of 
this  tract  of  the  Apostle's,  five  hundred 
years  before  the  events  transpired,  which 


it  so  graphically  describes.  What  eye,, 
not  omniscient,  could  see  these  things 
all  drawn  out  in  order,  time,  and  place, 
centuries  before  their  actual  occurrence? 
Who,  but  the  Almighty  Disposer  of 
events,  could  so  regulate,  as  to  brino- 
about  every  particular  precisely  accord- 
ant with  the  prediction  ? 

Be  it  so,  that  in  this  book  there  are 
some  prophetic  symbols  and  language 
difficult  to  be  understood,  and  whose 
harmony  with  facts  is  not  clearly  per- 
ceptible :  yet  should  not  such  exact  ful- 
filment, as  we  have  seen  in  so  many 
cases,  lead  us  to  the  conclusion,  that 
either  the  events  to  which  they  refer, 
are  lost  in  the  imperfection  of  our  histo-. 
rical  knowledge;  or  are  yet  beyond  the 
range  of  actual  existence,— -still  slumber- 
ing in  the  womb  of  time? 

Bet  it  so,  that  some  explain  and  apply 
many  of  them,  as  they  do  this  trumpet, 
to  very  different  occurrences.  To  this, 
as  an  objection  against  the  inference,  it 
may  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  men  often 
differ  in  matters  much  less  likely  to  pro- 
duce contrariety  of  opinion,  than  the  in- 
terpretation of  symbolical  language. 
There  is  frequently  an  eccentric  per- 
versity which  seeks  distinction  in  singu-. 
larity,  and  makes  absurdity  the  means 
of  carrying  a  weak  mind  into  the  public 
theatre.  The  self-willed  commentator, 
moreover,  has  often  strided  the  creature 
of  his  own  imagination  and  ridden  be- 
yond the  reach  of  reason  and  common 
sense,  lest  the  plain  and  the  figurative 
language  of  prophecy  should  be  so  in- 
terpreted as  to  expose  the  spiritual 
whoredom  of  a  degenerate  church. 

Still  there  is  meaning,  definite  mean- 
ing, in  the  prophetic  language,  in  which 
the  great  body  of  honest  and  correct 
minds  will  and  do  agree.  In  the  grand 
outline  there  is  substantial  concord:  and 
in  the  unquestionable  fulfilment  of  pro- 
phecy, indubitable  evidence  of  its  divine 
inspiration.  Sound  divines  differ  no 
more  in  their  expositions  of  the  leading 
prophecies,  than  do  sound  natural  philo- 
sophers in  their  interpretations  of  nature. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  those,  if  any 
such  there  be, — who  deny  that  God 
"  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 


156 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


his  own  will," — or,  that  he  knows  all 
things  that  take  place  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  can  explain  these 
facts,  in  connexion  with  the  prophecies, 
or  feel  any  force  in  this  proof  of  the 
divine  origin  of  the  Scriptures.  Assur- 
edly, if  God  does  not  absolutely  fore- 
know all  that  he  himself  will  do,  he 
must  "  work  by  guess."  And  if  he 
thus  work,  he  must  have  conjectured 
here  with  admirable  precision.  The 
deniers  of  foreknowledge  and  predes- 
tination, must  conceive,  that  Mohammed 
did  not  spring  into  being  at  the  time,  and 
place,  and  under  all  the  circumstances 
attending  him,  in  consequence  of  God's 
pre-arrangement :  but  it  was  a  mere 
matter  of  chance.  Sergius,  was  not 
created,  and  his  fall  did  not  occur  ac- 
cording to  God's  plan,  but  by  accident 
only.  The  progressive  period  of  Sara- 
cenic invasion  was  not  limited,  and 
founded  by  any  foreknowledge  and  or- 
dination of  God ;  but  it  merely  "  hap- 
pened so."  The  wonderful  coincidence 
of  the  prophetic  language  with  the  truths 
of  history,  is  not  in  the  least  owing  to 
an  almighty,  overruling  power,  bring- 
ing things  to  pass,  as  he  had  predicted, 
but  is  a  most  happy  chance, — a  beauti- 
ful, though  entirety  fortuitous  jumble  of 
atoms,  through  which  is  brought  about 
this  precise  fulfilment  of  John's  predic- 
tions !   Credat,  Judceus  Appelles  ! 

What  a  warning  have  we,  in  these 
wonderful  coincidences,  to  beware  how 
we  corrupt  the  church,  by  departure 
from  the  truths  of  the  gospel !  The 
moral  causes  of  the  church's  abandon- 
ment of  the  simple  doctrines  of  Christ, 
Arianism  and  Pelagianism, — kindred  er- 
rors, never  long  separated  from  each 
other, — had  infected  the  eastern  sections 
of  it,  and  the  scourge  arose  from  the 
same  doctrines.  Here  also  is  to  be  noted 
the  mode  of  the  divine  administration. 
Sin  induces  its  own  punishment,  and 
often  out  of  itself.  Every  Mohammedan 
denies  the  deity  of  Jesus,  and  is  a  self- 
righteous  man: — in  other  words,  every 
Mohammedan  is  both  an  Arian  and  a 
Pelagian  :  and  this  scourge  of  God  fol- 
lowed the  track  of  these  combined  here- 
sies.    Such  is  the  fact :  and  the  philoso- 


phy it  is   not  difficult  to  see  and  under- 
stand. 

Wherever  these  heresies  prevail,  the 
standard  of  piety  and  morality  is  al- 
ways lowered  to  man's  present  ability. 
When  that  standard  is  lowered, — when 
the  law  is  changed  by  diminishing  from 
its  rigid  requirements  to  suit  the  present 
inability  of  its  subject,  it  invites  to  im- 
morality, for  its  higher  claims  are  re- 
pealed. If  a  man  cannot  be  bound  by 
the  law  to  do  what  he  is  now  unable  to 
do  (which  is  the  essence  of  Pelagianism), 
then  repudiation  is  all  that  is  necessary  : 
the  bonds  of  obligation  are  cancelled. 
My  friends  !  the  degenerate  morality  of 
the  day,  which  threatens  to  disgrace 
these  republics  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
springs  from  the  degenerate  religion  of 
the  day.  Let  the  sentiment  pervade  the 
public  mind,  that  a  man  is  not  morally 
and  legally  bound, — that  he  cannot 
rightfully  be  held  to  do,  what  now, 
through  his  own  folly  and  crime,  it  may 
be,  he  is  unable  to  do  ; — let  this  detest- 
able sentiment  pervade  the  land,  and 
seize  the  conscience  of  the  nation,  and 
we  will  soon  have  universal  repudiation. 
The  foundations  of  morals,  and  conse- 
quently of  society  and  government, 
would  be  swept  away ;  anarchy  and 
wild  misrule  would  soon  compel  the 
miserable  relic  of  a  self-immolated  peo- 
ple, to  fly  for  prolonged  existence  to  the 
protecting  sword  of  whatever  military 
chieftain  might  chance  to  command  the 
largest  force.  To  save  the  nation  from 
such  a  fearful  catastrophe,  it  becomes  us 
to  fix  firmly  the  foundations  of  morality 
in  a  pure  religion,  which  honours  the 
Son  of  God  with  the  whole  glory  of 
man's  salvation,  to  the  utter  exclusion 
of  human  works  ;  which  makes  the  soul 
feel  that  it  is  spiritually  dead,  and  utterly 
unable  to  perform  any  holy  act,  until 
made  alive  by  the  almighty  energies  of 
God's  regenerating  Spirit.  This  pride- 
humbling  and  Christ-exalting  doctrine 
alone  can  constitute  the  basis  of  that 
morality,  which  will  sustain  the  struc- 
ture of  a  republican  government,  amid 
"  the  wreck  of  empires." 

We  once  more  repeat  it ; — that  the 
Ark  of  God  is  the  glory  of  the  nation. 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


157 


Why  could  not  the  Arab  invader  pass 
farther  north  ?  To  use  again  the  lan- 
guage of  the  brilliant  but  unbelieving 
historian,  "  the  Rhine  is  not  more  im- 
passable than  the  Nile  or  Euphrates, 
and  the  Arabian  fleet  might  have  sailed, 
without  a  naval  combat  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames."  Why  then  did  not 
the  heroic  and  victorious  Arab  pour  his 
overwhelming  squadrons  into  the  valley 
of  the  Rhine?  Why  did  not  the  "over- 
flowings of  Cush,"  sweep  the  base,  and 
roll  back  in  terrific  grandeur,  from  the 
summit  of  the  Alps  ?  Does  it  become 
the  proud  philosopher  to  rest  in  simple 
physical  facts?  Can  he  find  no  moral 
cause  for  this  amazing  phenomenon  ? 
What  then  is  his  explanation?  Nothing 
at  all  but  a  side  leer  at  the  credulity  of 
Italian  monks  for  believing  that  the  Sa- 
racens lost,  on  the  field  of  Tours,  such 
an  immense  number  in  proportion  to  the 
Christians.  Does  this  become  that 
haughty  philosophy,  which  scorns  to 
look  upon  history  as  a  series  of  bald 
physical  facts,  without  seeing  in  them 
the  embodiment  of  important  doctrines  ? 
Why  was  it,  we  ask,  that  Abderame  with 
his  four  hundred  thousand  Arabs,  who  had 
never  been  known  to  turn  their  backs 
upon  a  foe  ; — many  of  whom  had  con- 
quered in  Persia,  in  Syria,  in  Egypt,  in 
Africa,  in  Spain,  in  southern  France; — 
why  could  they  proceed  no  farther 
north  ?  Why  was  it  that  three  hundred 
thousand  of  them  turned  their  backs  to 
the  field  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire? 
How  came  it  that  this  vast  victorious 
host  passed  away  as  the  mists  of  the 
morning,  before  the  battle-axe  of  the 
German,  the  .arrow  of  the  Swiss,  the 
maul  of  the  Frank  ? 

We  challenge  a  response  ;  but  infidel 
philosophy  is  silent.  We  turn  to  the 
Christian,  and  we  have  his  reply.  It 
was  because  the  Ark  of  God  was  de- 
posited in  the  British  Isles.  At  this 
very  period  they  were  pre-eminently  the 
abode  of  Christianity,  and  the  land  of 
missions.  It  was  because  from  these 
Isles  had  gone  forth  the  heralds  of 
mercy ;  missionary  stations  had  been 
taken  all  along  the  valley  of  the  Rhine, 
and  Germany  was  then  young  in  the 


love  of  God's  truth.  It  was  because  in 
the  deep  fastnesses  of  the  eternal  Alps, 
the  more  eternal  gospel  of  God's  grace 
had  taken  deep  root.  And  the  historian 
is  deaf  as  well  as  blind,  who  does  not, 
in  the  death-clang  of  that  fearful  day, 
and  above  all,  in  the  din  of  that  terrible 
night,  and  the  shouts  of  its  triumph, 
hear  the  louder  voice  of  the  eternal  God, 
"  touch  not  mine  anointed ;  do  my 
projjhcts  no  harm.''''  This  is  the  Chris- 
tian's mode  of  accounting  for  the  fact. 
In  northern  France,  in  Britain,  in  Ire- 
land, in  Germany,  in  Switzerland,  and 
the  verdant  vales  of  Piedmont,  the  good 
Shepherd  had  placed  his  flock.  There 
is  the  reason  why  a  few  thousands  of 
men,  collected  in  the  hasty  efforts  of  a 
few  weeks,  were  enabled  to  give  a  death- 
blow to  the  Saracenic  invasion  in  Europe. 
Pure  religion  is  the  only  impregnable 
bulwark  of  a  nation's  defence.  Oh,  my 
country  !  wouldst  thou  survive  the  last 
battle  for  freedom  ?  Wou+dst  thou  drive 
the  last  arrow  through  the  heart  of  giant 
despotism  ?  Wouldst  thou  stand  by 
when  he  falls,  and  mark  his  last  con- 
vulsive throes  ?  Wouldst  thou 
funeral  pile  with  the  bright 
liberty  in  thy  hand  ?  Cherish 
gion  of  Jesus: — cherish  it, — not  in  name, 
— not  by  law, — not  by  force, — not  by 
power ;  but  cherish  it  in  practice,  in 
holiness,  in  truth,  and  in  love.  "  Blessed 
is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord,  and 
the  people  whom  he  hath  chosen  for  his 
own  inheritance." 


light  his 
torch  of 
the  reli- 


LECTURE  XVIII. 

THE     SECOND     WOE. 

THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE. 

At  the  close  of  the  fifth  trumpet  or  first 
woe,  the  prophet  proclaims,  "  One  woe 
is  past ;  and  behold  there  come  two 
woes  more  hereafter."  No  intimation 
is  given  in  the  expression,  in  regard  to 
the  lapse  of  time  between  the  woes.  It 
is  merely  said  that  two  more  shall  come 
"  after  these   things" — after   the    facts 


158 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


prophetically  detailed  under  the  fifth 
trumpet,  whose  historical  developement 
we  have  passed  over  with  necessary 
brevity :  but  how  long  after,  must  be 
learned  elsewhere.  Probably  the  safest 
method  of  prosecuting  the  inquiry,  will 
be  to  pass  through  the  examination  of 
the  context;  and  when  we  shall  have 
thus  settled  the  meaning  of  the  language, 
to  direct  our  attention  to  the  chronicles 
of  the  past,  with  the  view  of  ascertain- 
ing whether  there  be  events  on  record 
correspondent  to  the  grand  outline  of  an 
honest  exposition. 

Verses  13,  14.  "  x\nd  the  sixth  angel 
sounded,  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  the 
four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which  is 
before  God,  saying  to  the  sixth  angel 
which  had  the  trumpet,  Loose  the  four 
angels  which  are  bound  in  the  great 
river  Euphrates." 

This  blast  of  the  trumpet, — this  an- 
nunciation of   some   approaching  event 
of  great  importance,  is  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  a  cry  from  the  four  horns  of 
the  golden  altar.     But  in  his  description 
of   the    general    scene   (chap,    iv.),   the 
Apostle   does   not    mention    the    golden 
altar ;  neither  does  he  speak  of  angels 
as  forming  the  outer  circle.     These  are 
brought   in    subsequently ;    and    so   the 
altar  of  incense  is  introduced  here,  as  it 
had  been,  in  chap.  vi.  9.     It  is  the  type 
of  Jesus,  our  Redeemer,  in  all  that  part 
of  his  mediatorial  office    which  consists 
in  intercession.     The  incense  represents 
the  prayers  of  the  saints,  which  ascend 
acceptably  only  through  the  intervention 
of  "  our   Advocate    with    the    Father." 
The  voice,  therefore,  is  that  of  the  Me- 
diator, presenting  the  desires  of  his  true 
followers,  and  directing  the  agency  to  be 
set  on   foot  for  the  accomplishment  of 
God's  purposes  of  wrath.      The  three 
woes  are  to  be  executed  upon  "  the  in- 
habiters  of  the  earth,"  or  Roman  Em- 
pire.    This    is    one    of  the   three,    and 
whatever  it  may  be,  we   have  here  the 
agents,     receiving     their     commission. 
This    commission    is    from    the    Most 
High,  embodying  as  it  were,  the  pray- 
ers of  his  chosen,  for  destruction  upon 
the  iniquity  and  violence  practised  within 
the  church  and  empire. 


The  burden  of  the  charge  is  to 
"  Loose  the  four  angels."  These  four 
angels  are  undeniably  four  warlike,  de- 
vastating powers,  for  their  task  is,  "  to 
slay  the  third  part  of  men."  It  is  a 
work  of  blood  which  is  put  into  their 
hands.  They  are  messengers  of  heaven, 
of  a  very  different  character  from  many 
others  ;  yet  still  they  are  sent  to  fulfil 
its  purposes  of  vengeance. 

The  coalition  of  these  four  powers 
into  one,  in  purpose  and  in  action,  must 
be  noted.  This  might  be  supposed  to 
lead  to  unity  of  organization.  And 
consequently,  we  find  them  spoken  of 
ever  after  as  one  body  or  power,  com- 
posed of  immense  numbers  of  horsemen. 
The  condition  and  locality  demand 
special  attention.  They  are  bound ; 
this  can  mean  nothing  more  nor  less, 
than  that  they  are  so  situated  as  to  be 
checked  and  restrained,  and  thus  pre- 
vented from  rushing  forth  to  the  work 
of  death.  It  plainly  intimates  their 
temper  and  adaptation  to  such  em- 
ployment ;  but  that  hindrances  are  pro- 
videntially in  their  way,  and  they  are 
restrained.  Therefore  their  being  loosed 
necessarily  means  such  change  in  their 
relative  position  as  presents  an  entrance 
for  them  upon  a  work  to  which  they  are 
eagerly  inclined. 

Their  locality  is  in  the  vast  Euphra- 
tean  valley.  The  language  is  pro- 
fessedly figurative.  To  take  it  literally, 
in  the  river,  when  all  else  is  symbolical, 
would  be  manifestly  using  great  violence 
toward  the  Apostle.  We  are  to  look  for 
these  four  powers  in  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates. 

The  period  for  which  their  services 
are  required  is  described  in  verse  15, — 
"  which  are  prepared  for  an  hour,  and  a 
day,  and  a  month,  and  a  year."  Taking 
then  a  day  for  a  year,">*SfBd  an  hour  for 
a  day,  according  to  the  prophetical  com- 
putation, we  have  the  sum  of  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  years  and  fifteen 
days.  During  this  period  of  time  there- 
fore, we  are  to  expect  this  quadruple 
power, — quadruple  as  to  its  origin, — to 
prevail  and  spread  devastation  in  its 
van. 

The  specific  object  of  this  destructive 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


159 


power  is  next  to  be  remarked, — "  the 
third  part  of  men."  This  phrase  we 
have  seen  to  be  descriptive  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  whose  lustre  had  departed. 
Still  the  imperial  power  existed.  Con- 
stantinople claimed,  and  for  some  time 
exercised,  dominion  over  Italy.  She  was 
looked  upon  as  the  seat  of  power,  and 
the  Greek  emperor  was  acknowledged 
to  be  entitled  to  wear  the  purple.  The 
eye  of  the  prophet  views  the  body  of  the 
empire  as  one. 

Verse  16,  presents  the  multitude  and 
character  of  the  troops.  "  And  the 
number  of  the  army  of  the  horsemen 
were  two  hundred  thousand  thousand  ;" 
or  two  hundred  millions  :  literally,  two 
myriads  of  myriads  : — a  definite  for  an 
indefinite  number.  The  design  is  evi- 
dently to  convey  the  idea  of  vastly 
numerous  armies,  composed  of  a  species 
of  soldiery  much  more  difficult  to  procure 
and  sustain  than  infantry.  Cavalry  had 
always  heretofore  constituted  a  small 
proportion  of  the  effective  force.  Tt  is 
doubtful  whether  ancient  history,  or  his- 
tory prior  to  the  period  of  this  vision, 
ever  exhibited  any  large  army  consisting 
chiefly  of  horsemen. 

Verse  17,  "  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses 
in  the  vision,  and  them  that  sat  on  them, 
having  breastplates  of  fire,  and  jacinth, 
and  brimstone;  and  the  heads  of  the 
horses  were  as  the  heads  of  lions  :  and 
out  of  their  mouths  issued  fire,  and 
smoke,  and  brimstone." 

This  immense  body  of  cavalry  were 
arrayed  in  brilliant  equipments.  For 
the  description  is  figurative.  Their 
breastplates  were  not  made  of  fire,  hya- 
cinth, and  brimstone;  they  were  simply 
of  a  fiery  hue.  So  also  of  the  other 
colours.  It  is  the  adjectives  which  are 
used,  and  they  merely  relate  here  to  the 
appearance  of  the  horsemen.  Amongst 
them  we  are  therefore  to  expect  a  preva- 
lence of  the  flaming  red,  the  brilliant 
blue,  and  the  bright  yellow. 

The  heads  of  the  horses  indicate  great 
fierceness;  they  are  said  to  be  like  lions. 
The  warrior  succeeds  to  an  amazing  ex- 
tent in  infusing  his  own  terrible  spirit 
into  his  steed  ;  so  that  the  docile  and 
noble  creature  becomes  infuriated,  and 


thirsts   for  blood  with  the  eagerness  of 
his  rider. 

"  Fire,  and  smoke,  and  brimstone," 
are  seen  to  issue  out  of  their  mouths. 
This  may  be  understood  as  bold  and  ex- 
pressive figure.  Job  speaks  of  the  war- 
horse  having  "  his  neck  clothed  with 
thunder,"  and  the  glory  of  his  nostrils 
as  terrible.  Of  the  leviathan  he  says, 
"  out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,  as  out 
of  a  seething  pot  or  cauldron.  His 
breath  kindleth  coals,  and  a  flame  goeth 
out  of  his  mouth."  But  as  the  language 
of  our  context  is  professedly  symbolical, 
we  agree  with  the  common  interpreta- 
tion, which  finds  in  these  a  representa- 
tion of  the  smoke,  fire,  and  brimstone, 
which  are  known  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  customs  of  war,  at  a 
period  long  subsequent  to  that  of  the 
first  woe  trumpet.  We  may  therefore 
expect  to  discover  the  use  of  gunpow- 
der and  fire-arms  in  this  vast  equestrian 
army.  From  verse  18,  we  are  led  to 
expect  this  new  agent  of  destruction  to 
become  very  efficient.  "  By  these  three 
was  the  third  part  of  men  killed,  by  the 
fire,  and  by  the  smoke,  and  by  the  brim- 
stone, which  issued  out  of  their  mouths." 
This  language  seems  designed,  as  it  is 
admirably  adapted,  to  forestall  the  former 
interpretation,  which  makes  the  fire, 
smoke,  and  brimstone  merely  a  strong 
poetic  figure  of  the  horse's  fierceness  ; 
and  to  shut  us  up  to  the  necessity  of 
understanding  it  as  an  allusion  to  the 
new  mode  of  warfare.  It  is  the  main 
instrument  of  the  ultimate  success  in 
putting  an  end  to  the  imperial  power, 
or  destroying  the  third  part  of  men. 

In  verse  19,  is  described  the  power  of 
their  tails,  in  similar  phrase  as  those  of 
the  Saracenic  horsemen.  This,  as  we 
have  seen,  represents  the  poisonous  and 
deadly  influence  of  the  doctrines  they 
left  in  their  train. 

Verses  20,  21.  "  And  the  rest  of  the 
men  which  were  not  killed  by  these 
plagues,  yet  repented  not  of  the  works 
of  their  hands  ;  that  they  should  not 
worship  devils,  and  idols  of  gold,  and 
silver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and  of 
wood  ;  which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear, 
nor   walk.      Neither    repented    they  of 


160 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


their  murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries,  nor 
of  their  fornications,  nor  of  their  thefts." 
We  are  here  presented  with  a  plain 
delineation  of  the  moral  causes  of  this 
desolating  invasion  ;  and  by  observing 
the  most  important  facts,  prophetically 
set  forth,  we  shall  be  aided,  in  locating 
the  prophecy  upon  history.  We  will 
mark,  therefore,  some  of  the  leading 
vices  of  the  church  in  the  age  referred  to. 

1.  Demonology, — the  worship  of  de- 
vils or  rather  demons.  The  word  demon 
is  used  by  Greek  writers  in  the  New 
Testament  to  signify  separate  spirits, 
good  or  bad. 

The  shades  of  departed  heroes  were 
deified,  and  became  objects  of  a  kind  of 
secondary  religious  veneration,  under 
the  name  of  demons.  Many  of  the  phi- 
losophers supposed  that  some  one  of 
these  spirits  had  charge  of  each  person  : 
and  this  opinion  is  not  without  counte- 
nance from  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  in 
which  he  says,  concerning  little  chil- 
dren, that  "  their  angels  do  always  be- 
hold the  face  of  their  heavenly  Father." 
But  no  authority  can  be  produced  from 
Scripture  or  reason,  for  the  bestovvment 
of  religious  worship  on  them.  These 
demigods  are  man's  invention.  Now 
this  demonology  must  prevail  in  the 
church  at  the  period  of  the  rise  of  these 
horsemen  :  and  it  will  not  be  prevented, 
although  it  will  be  scourged  by  them. 
They  will  not  repent  of  demon  worship 
or  cease  its  practice. 

2.  Another  cause  of  this  terrible  visi- 
tation, and  a  characteristic  of  the  people 
upon  whom  it  falls,  is  idolatry;  they 
will  be  found  bowing  down  to  idols  of 
gold,  silver,  brass,  stone,  and  wood. 
Images  will  be  formed  of  these  vari- 
ous materials,  by  the  third  part  of 
men,  for  purposes  of  religious  worship, 
and  so  extensively  will  this  prevail  as 
to  become  a  crying  evil,  and  call  aloud 
for  the  outpouring  of  divine  wrath  upon 
them.  Nevertheless  the  iniquity  will  sur- 
vive the  instrument  of  its  chastisement. 

3.  When  the  religion  of  the  pagan 
finds  a  lodgment  in  the  heart  of  the 
Christian  empire,  the  morality  of  the 
former  may  be  expected  in  the  latter. 
Degeneracy  of  morals  ever  follows  cor- 


ruption of  religion.  This  idolatrous, 
demon-worshipping  age,  is  consequently 
to  be  characterized  by  "  murders,  sor- 
ceries, fornications,  thefts," — evidences 
of  an  impure  state  of  society:  and  this 
deluge  of  fire,  brimstone,  and  blood,  is 
precipitated  upon  the  "  inhabiters  of  the 
earth,"  as  an  expression  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure on  account  of  these  corruptions. 

There  are  no  less  than  sixteen  parti- 
culars set  forth  by  the  prophet,  corre- 
sponding to  which,  we  are  to  look  for 
the  historical  facts.  First,  there  are 
four  agencies  or  powers.  Second,  they 
must  be  bound,  or  restrained  from  de- 
structive action  toward  the  empire. 
Third,  they  must  coalesce  into  one 
mighty  power.  Fourth,  their  purpose 
and  aim  must  be  conquest,  havoc,  and 
blood.  Fifth,  they  must  be  located  in, 
and  spring  up  from,  the  Euphratean 
valley.  Sixth,  they  are  to  advance  and 
prosper  for  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  years  and  fifteen  days.  Seventh, 
their  destination  must  be  against  the 
empire.  Eighth,  their  armies  must  be 
immensely  numerous.  Ninth,  they  must 
consist  very  largely  of  horsemen.  Tenth, 
they  must  use  and  depend  for  final  suc- 
cess in  subverting  the  empire,  on  gun- 
powder. Eleventh,  their  military  equip- 
ments and  standards  must  partake  large- 
ly of  the  colours,  red,  blue,  and  yellow. 
Twelfth,  the  cavalry  are  to  be  distin- 
guished for  indomitable  ferocity.  Thir- 
teenth, their  poisonous  influence  after 
conquest,  is  like  the  Saracenic,  and  de- 
signates them  a  Mohammedan  body. 
Fourteenth,  the  empire  must  be  much 
addicted  to  demonology  at  the  time  of 
their  rise.  Fifteenth,  it  must  be  deeply 
sunk  into  the  idolatry  of  image  worship. 
Sixteenth,  it  must  be  degraded  exceed- 
ingly in  its  moral  character. 

We  are  not  aware  that*  there  is  a 
diversity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  this 
subject.  There  is  but  one  power,  whose 
history  accords  to  all  this,  and  beyond 
doubt,  it  is  the  clearness  of  the  provi- 
dential exposition  of  the  prophecy, — in 
other  words,  the  precise  correspondence 
of  facts  with  the  prophecy,  which  has 
produced  such  perfect  unanimity  among 
commentators. 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


161 


Our  eye  must  be  turned  to  "  the  great 
river ;"  where  have  occurred  most  im- 
portant and  strange  events.  In  this  fair 
valley,  man  was  placed  in  all  the  beauty 
of  his  first  creation.  Here  he  aposta- 
tized from  happiness,  holiness,  and  God. 
Here  the  green  sod  was  first  wet  with 
his  blood, — the  blood  of  murdered  inno- 
cence. Here  was  revealed  to  him  the 
glorious  doctrine  of  forgiveness  of  sin 
through  the  atonement.  In  this  valley, 
he  planted  his  first  colonies  after  the 
flood.  Here  despotism  had  its  first 
throne,  and  wielded  its  first  sceptre. 
Here  stood  Nineveh,  and  Babylon  ;.  and 
here  they  fell.  Here  Saracenic  power 
established  itself,  and  from  this  centre, 
•  Mohammedan  tyranny  and  oppression 
flowed  far  and  wide.  Over  the  eastern 
portions  of  these  vast  plains  Ghengis 
Khan  poured  the  crimson  flood  of  his 
desolating  invasion.  And  down  from 
the  boundless  steppes  of  Tartary  rolled 
into  this  valley,  those  immense  masses 
of  men,  which  harassed  and  conquered 
the  Saracen,  and  were  in  turn  van- 
quished by  him.  In  general,  these  in- 
vaders embraced  the  Mohammedan  re- 
ligion, and  took  up  their  permanent 
residence  in  different  places.  Among 
these  Tartar  hordes,  the  Seljukian  Turks 
became  conspicuous,  and  procured  a  set- 
tlement for  themselves  at  Iconium,  in 
Asia  Minor,  about  the  year  A.  D.  1074. 
Their  prince,  or  chief,  was  denominated 
.officially,  soldan,  which  is  now  softened 
into  sulta?i :  and  the  government  itself 
was  called  a  sultany.  In  process  of 
time,  three  other  governments  of  the 
same  description  were  consolidated  out 
of  the  relics  of  the  Saracens,  who  united 
with  the  Tartar  hordes,  and  held  their 
seats  of  power  respectively  at  Bagdad, 
Aleppo,  and  Damascus.  Here  we  have 
the  four  angels,  or  powers,  about  to  be 
united  into  one  arid  sent  upon  a  work  of 
vengeance. 

Almost  simultaneous  with  the  regular 
organization  of  these  governments,  call- 
ed Sultanies,  commenced  the  crusades. 
The  Turks  wrested  Jerusalem  from  the 
Saracens  in  A.  D.  1065  ;  and  treated  the 
Christian  pilgrims,  who  frequented  that 
city,  with  such  indignity,  as  to  arouse 

21 


Peter  the  hermit,  and  other  zealots, 
through  whose  agency,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  European  troops  were  precipi- 
tated upon  the  shores  of  Asia,  for  the 
purpose  of  redeeming  the  Holy  Laud. 
These  wars  of  the  cross  continued  from 
1096  to  1270,  and  kept  in  check  the 
gathering  tide  of  barbarous  population 
from  the  borders  of  Thibet  and  China, 
and  the  immense  interior  regions  of  Tar- 
tary. But  this  restraint  ceased  with  the 
eighth  crusade,  about  1270.  By  the  re- 
striction which  these  wars  imposed,  were 
the  four  angels  bound, — by  its  removal 
were  they  loosed. 

About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, Erdogrul  or  Ortogrul,  a  Tartar 
chief  of  great  talents,  son  of  Solyman 
Shah,  to  whom  the  Turks  proudly  trace 
their  origin,  passing  westward  in  quest 
of  plunder  and  a  new  home,  applied  to 
Aladin,  Sultan  of  Iconium,  for  employ- 
ment and  a  residence  for  his  followers. 
Aladin  was  troubled  not  a  little  to  repel 
certain  hordes  of  Monghul  Tartars,  who 
were  pressing  down  upon  him,  and  gladly 
accepted  the  offer.  He  had  indeed  been 
defeated,  and  was  in  imminent  peril, 
when  the  seasonable  aid  of  Ortogrul 
saved  him.  Aladin's  new  friends  were 
permitted  to  settle  in  a  district  of  the 
sultany,  called  Ancyra,  the  government 
of  which  he  conceded  to  them.  It  was 
not  long  before  Ortogrul  found  an  occa- 
sion of  quarrel  with  the  Greek  Christians, 
subjects  of  the  emperor  at  Constantinople; 
and  in  the  year  1281,  he  wrested  from 
them  Cutahi,  the  ancient  Cotyeum.  This 
was  the  first  conquest  of  the  Seljukian 
Turks, — their  first  victory  over  the  im- 
perial troops  or  dependents, — the  first 
blow  toward  the  killing  of  the  third  part 
of  men.  Bishop  Newton  adopts  this  in- 
terpretation. 

A  few  years  after  this  event,  Ortogrul 
died,  leaving  Othman  heir  of  his  fortunes 
and  talents.  From  him  the  Turks  pro- 
fessedly derive  their  name  and  nation  ; 
for  they  dislike  the  epithet  of  Turk. 
About  the  same  time,  Aladin,  Sultan  of 
Iconium,  also  deceased,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  of  the  same  name. 
Availing  themselves  of  the  occasion,  the 
Tartar  hordes,  who  still  passed  down 


162 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


from  the  North  and  East,  assailed  the 
youthful  sultan,  who  was  entirely  rout- 
ed, and  fled  for  protection  to  Constanti- 
nople ;  where,  according  to  some,  he 
was  imprisoned,  by  the  emperor.  This, 
however,  is  not  duly  authenticated.  It  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  the  petty  princes 
in  this  part  of  Asia  Minor,  whether  with 
the  advice  and  consent  or  in  opposition 
to  the  will  of  Aladin,  is  not  determined, 
did  choose  Othman  as  their  leader,  and 
either  conferred  on  him,  or  he  assumed, 
the  title  of  Sultan  or  Emperor  of  the 
Othmans.  This  occurred  in  125)9  or 
1300.  (See  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  xxvii.  p. 
315,  etc.)  It  is  not  necessary,  nor  is  it 
probable,  that  the  name  Emperor  or  even 
Sultan,  was  at  first  given  ;  nor  that  his 
followers  were  at  first  called  Othmans. 
His  elevation  was  not  owing  solely  to  his 
immediate  followers.  A  common  danger 
united  the  various  leaders  of  provinces 
embraced  within  the  mountains  of  Ar- 
menia to  Western  Phrygia ;  and  as  Oth- 
man was  most  likely  to  prevail  against 
the  Tartars,  he  became,  by  general  and 
tacit  consent,  their  commander.  After 
checking  these  foes,  he  directed  his  vic- 
torious bands  to  the  settlement  and  con- 
solidation of  his  government,  and  thus 
paved  the  way  for  supreme  and  extensive 
dominion.  But,  as  before  observed,  the 
first  real  acquisition  from  the  Christian 
empire  was  Cutahi  in  1281.  Eastward 
they  extended  their  arms,  and  shortly 
brought  into  subjection,  or  perhaps  rather 
united  with  themselves,  the  Sultanies  of 
Damascus,  Aleppo,  and  Bagdad. 

In  1326,  Brusa  or  Prusa,  the  capital 
of  Bithynia,  surrendered  to  Orchan,  the 
son  and  successor  of  Othman.  The  next 
year  Nicomedia  fell  before  him.  Six 
years  later  Isnick  in  Natorise,  surrender- 
ed. Having  crossed  over  into  Europe, 
the  Ottomans  laid  siege  in  1361  to  Adri- 
anople,  the  capital  of  Romania,  about  a 
hundred  and  fifteen  miles  north-west  of 
Constantinople. 

In  1393  and  1396,  the  Hungarians 
were  twice  defeated  with  fearful  slaugh- 
ter, by  Bajazet  and  the  Turks,  at  Nico- 
poli,  in  Bulgaria,  on  the  Danube.  Baja- 
zet was  checked  and  humbled  by  the 
invincible  prowess  of  Timour  Bee,  or 


Tamerlane,  the  second  Ghengis  Khan  of 
Asia  ;  or  doubtless  his  victories  over  the 
Christians  would  have  been  more  ruinous, 
and  have  proved  fatal  to  the  empire. 

In  1403,  Sigismund,  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, was  totally  routed  at  Semendria, 
in  Servia,  by  the  Othman  troops  under 
the  command  of  Musa,  son  of  Bajazet, 
who  acted  as  regent. 

In  1429.  Amurath  II.,  the  sixth  Otto- 
man Emperor,  wrested  Thessalonica  from 
the  Venetians ;  but  in  1435  and  years 
following,  his  progress  was  checked,  and 
he  was  vanquished  in  several  severe 
battles  by  Hunniades,  the  intrepid  com- 
mander of  the  Polish  and  Hungarian 
troops,  sent  against  him  by  Ladislaus. 

In  1444,  Ladislaus,  commanding  the 
army  in  person,  fought  a  great  battle 
with  the  Turks  at  Varnes,  in  Bulgaria, 
in  which  the  Polish  king  was  slain,  and 
his  army  lost  the  day. 

In  1453,  Mahomet  II.  took  Constanti- 
nople by  siege.  Here,  by  way  of  pre- 
eminence, fire-arms  were  used  with  great 
effect.  The  cannon  of  Mahomet  were 
immensely  large.  One  of  them  required 
seventy  yoke  of  oxen  to  draw  it,  and 
projected  a  ball  of  three  hundred  pounds. 
These  balls  were  made  of  stone,  and  of 
course  must  have  been  three  times  as 
large  as  an  iron  ball  of  the  same  weight. 
The  forces  employed  by  Mahomet  in  this 
memorable  siege  and  sack,  are  variously 
estimated  at  from  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight,  to  four  hundred  thousand  men.  In 
1456,  the  Sultan  advanced  with  his  vic- 
torious squadrons  up  the  Danube,  and 
laid  siege  to  Belgrade :  but  there  stood 
the  invincible  Pole;  Hunniades  was 
again  victorious,  and  the  Othmans  were 
obliged  to  withdraw. 

The  Sultan  in  1480,  formed  the  siege 
of  Rhodes,  with  an  army  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  men.  But  the  Knights  of 
St.  John  were  at  this  time  the  best  dis- 
ciplined troops  in  the  world,  and  the  most 
lion-like  heroes.  The  skill  and  bravery 
of  their  defence,  hurled  back  this  vast 
host,  and  retained  the  Levant  in  the 
power  of  Christendom. 

In  1514,  Selim  I.,  their  ninth  sultan, 
marched  against  Ismael,  King  of  Persia, 
defeated  him  in  the  plains  of  Chalcedon, 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


163 


and  took  Tauris.  In  1516,  he  turned 
his  arms  against  Egypt,  and  gained  the 
battle  of  Aleppo,  in  which  Kauson,  Sul- 
tan of  Egypt,  was  slain.  The  next  year 
he  gained  a  victory  near  Cairo,  and 
after  capturing  his  foes  caused  thirty 
thousand  Mamelukes  to  be  slaughtered. 
This  ancient  and  renowned  country  has 
been  ever  since  a  provincial  dependant 
on  the  Sublime  Porte. 

In  1521,  Solyman  II.,  their  tenth  sul- 
tan, formed  the  siege  of  Belgrade:  and 
there  being  no  Hunniades  at  the  head  of 
Polish  lancers,  that  important  post  was 
lost  to  the  Christians.  The  next  year, 
he  empolyed  an  immense  force  against 
Rhodes,  which  the  knights  were  com- 
pelled to  abandon,  after  one  of  the  most 
astonishing  defences  of  which  history 
informs  us.  The  indomitable  relic  of 
this  Christian  army,  however,  made 
good  their  retreat  to  Malta.  In  1526, 
Solyman  gained  the  famed  victory  of 
Mahatz,  which  Lewis  II.,  King  of  Hun- 
gary, yielded  only  with  his  life.  In 
1529,  he  formed  the  siege  of  Vienna, 
with  a  vast  army,  but  was  forced  to  re- 
'tire  after  a  loss  of  eighty  thousand  men. 

In  1535,  he  undertook  the  siege  of 
Malta,  and  concentrated  upon  it  all  his 
military  skill,  and  all  his  pride  and 
power :  but  in  vain.  The  Knights  of 
St.  John,  who  were  organized  to  defend 
Christendom,  withstood  successfully  his 
most  strenuous  exertions,  and  accom- 
plished the  most  glorious  defence  re- 
corded in  the  annals  of  war.— (Univ. 
Hist.  vol.  28,  p.  60.) 

In  1638,  Amurath  IV.,  the  seven- 
teenth emperor,  after  long  and  severe 
conflict,  recovered  Bagdad  from  the 
Persians,  and  treacherously  slaughtered 
thirty  thousand  men  after  they  had  sur- 
rendered on  capitulation,  and  laid  down 
their  arms. 

In  1663,  Mahomet  IV.,  the  nineteenth 
emperor,  defeated  the  forces  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  and  captured  Neu- 
hausel,  in  Hungary,  a  little  eastward 
from  Vienna.  But  he  was  in  turn  van- 
quished the  next  year  by  the  imperial 
troops  under  the  command  of  General 
Montecuculli,  near  St.  Gothard. 

In  1669,  he  retook  Candia  from  the 


Venetians,  and  declared  war  against  Po- 
land. In  1672,  after  a  siege  often  days, 
his  bashaw  captured  Kameniec,  the  capi- 
tal of  Podolia  in  Poland  ;  and  Wiesno- 
wiski,  the  King  of  Poland,  a  deformed 
monk,  whom  Jesuitical  intrigue  had 
forced  upon  the  throne  in  opposition  to 
his  wishes,  made  a  disgraceful  treaty 
with  the  Turk.  Kameniec  surrendered 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  August,  1672. 
All  Podolia,  with  this  strong  fortress, 
was  ceded  to  the  Othmans,  and  a  tribute 
of  twenty-two  thousand  ducats  per  an- 
num was  promised  as  the  price  of  peace. 
(See  Univ.  Hist,  vol.49,  p.  8.— Fletcher's 
Poland,  83.) 

This  was  the  last  conquest  of  the 
Turks.  The  next  year,  in  contraven- 
tion of  the  treaty,*  they  invaded  Galli- 
cia  ;  but  they  met  a  rock  ;  John  Sobieski, 
the  hero  of  Poland's  heroes,  took  the 
field.  He  advanced  towards  Kameniec, 
with  the  design  of  retaking  it :  but  deem- 
ing it  safest  first  to  dislodge  the  Turks 
from  Chotzan,  a  town  some  twenty  miles 
from  the  great  fortress,  on  the  south  of 
the  Dneister,  he  determined  to  attack 
them.  "  But  this  was  an  enterprise 
scarcely  to  be  attempted  with  his  slender 
forces,  which  did  not  amount  to  thirty 
thousand  fighting  men.  The  Turkish 
army  exceeded  three  hundred  thousand 
men,  including  the  troops  of  Moldavia 
and  Wallachia  ;  the  bashaw  was  so  cer- 
tain of  victory  that  he  had  already  forged 
chains  for  the  king  and  court,  and  sent 
word  to  the  sultan,  that  before  the  end 
of  the  campaign,  he  would  fix  the  Otto- 
man standard  on  the  walls  of  Cracow." 
(Univ.  Hist.  vol.  49,  p.  8.)  The  Walla- 
chians  and  Moldavians,  however,  proved 
unfaithful  to  their  Ottoman  masters, 
and  the  Poles  attacked  them.  "  For 
three  days,"  adds  the  history,  "  the 
Turk  maintained  his  ground,  and  re- 
newed the  engagement  by  intervals ;  at 
last  the  skill  and  fortune  of  Sobieski,  as 
well  as  the  superior  valour  of  the  Poles, 
prevailed ;  a  complete  victory  was  ob- 
tained, terrible  slaughter  made,  a  multi- 
tude  of  prisoners  were  taken ;   and  of 


*  Fletcher  throws  the  blame  of  this  violation 
upon  the  Poles. 


164 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  whole  Turkish  army  not  more  than 
fifteen  thousand  were  suffered  to  make 
their  escape."  Fletcher  quotes  Sobies- 
ki's  speech  before  the  last  onset :  upon 
viewing  the  gorgeous  camp  of  the  ene- 
my, he  concluded  it  by  saying,  "My  com- 
rades, in  half  an  hour  we  shall  lodge  un- 
der those  gilded  tents."  He  kept  his  word. 

The  next  year  Sobieski  was  elected 
King  of  Poland  ;  and  in  the  year  follow- 
ing, he  fought  with  the  Turks  the  des- 
perate battle  of  Leopal,  or  Lemburgh,  in 
Gallicia  ;  where,  with  six  thousand  men, 
he  was  attacked  by  the  bashaw  with  an 
army  of  one  hundred  thousand.  The 
Turks  were,  nevertheless, entirely  routed, 
leaving  twelve  thousand  dead  on  the  field. 

In  the  year  1683,  the  Turks  with  a 
vast  army  swept  over  Servia  and  Pan- 
nonia,  and  formed  the  siege  of  Vienna. 
The  German  emperor,  Leopold,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Lorraine, 
were  ill  prepared  for  such  a  visit.  Con- 
sternation pervaded  the  capital,  and  the 
panic  thrilled  over  Christendom.  All 
hearts  quailed  ;  and  the  Christian  world 
almost  felt  itself  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Moslem.  Agonizing  and  despairing  Eu- 
rope threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  John 
Sobieski.  The  appeal  was  not  in  vain. 
The  Polish  chief,  with  twenty  thousand 
lion-hearted  men,  rushed  to  the  rescue. 
"  The  victory,"  say  the  historians,  "  was 
complete,  and  it  was  entirely  ascribed  to 
the  gallantry  of  Sobieski  and  the  impe- 
tuous valour  of  the  Poles,  whom  nothing 
could  resist.  The  great  Ottoman  stan- 
dard was  taken ;  all  the  vizier's  im- 
mense treasure  and  baggage,  the  ammu- 
nition, provisions,  and  train  of  artillery, 
amounting  to  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pieces  of  cannon,  were  the  reward  of 
the  conquerors,  together  with  the  glory 
of  having  defeated  an  army  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  men,  with  the  loss  of  no 
more  than  six  hundred  private  men  and 
three  officers." 

When  one  reads  the  history  of  these 
illustrious  deeds,  and  casts  his  eye  upon 
the  map,  with  the  inquiry, — where  is 
Poland? — where  the  gallant  kingdom, 
which  twenty  times  rescued  Europe 
from  the  scimetar  of  the  Turk,  and 
Christianity  from  the  pollutions  of  Mo- 


hammedism?  and  is  answered — Poland! 
there  is  no  such  kingdom  ;  she  is  ex- 
punged, blotted  out,  annihilated; — how 
the  soul  kindles  in  irrepressible  indigna- 
tion at  the  despotism  of  the  czar, — the 
base  treachery  of  the  emperor, — the 
cold-blooded  indifference  of  Europe  and 
the  world  toward  the  land  of  Sobieski ! 

But  our  use  of  these  facts  is  to  illus- 
trate prophecy.  We  have  seen  that  the 
first  conquest  of  the  Othman  Turks  was 
Cutahi,  in  A.  D.  1281.  We  have  traced 
their  chief  steps  toward  empire.  We 
have  marked  their  last  conquest, — that 
of  Kameniec,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
August,  1672,  exactly  three  hundred 
and  ninety-one  years  from  the  capture 
of  Cutahi.  And  could  we  ascertain  the 
precise  day  of  Ortogrul's  first  conquest, 
as  we  do  that  of  his  successor's  last,  the 
prophecy  would,  doubtlessly,  be  found 
true  to  a  day. 

The  events  subsequent  to  the  fall  of 
Kameniec  it  was  important  for  us  to 
know,  in  order  to  show  that  the  cessation 
of  Ottoman  conquests  was  not  the  re- 
sult of  their  policy, — was  not  for  want 
of  disposition  or  exertion  on  their  part. 
Other  battles  they  did  fight  after  August 
twenty-seventh,  1672,  very  many  and 
very  bloody.  Efforts  at  extending  their 
dominion,  great  and  vigorous,  they  did 
make,  but  they  added  no  permanent  pos- 
session to  their  empire.  And  wherefore 
was  it  that  they  were  unsuccessful  in 
their  farther  advances  towards  dominion? 
Let  the  philosophic  historian  meet  this 
question  if  he  can.  But  until  he  admits 
the  light  of  revelation,  all  will  remain 
obscure.  This  only  can  make  every 
thing  plain.  The  Turkish  horsemen 
were  commissioned  of  God  to  scourge  a 
degenerate  church.  Their  commission 
was  to  carry  them  onward  for  "an  hour, 
and  a  day,  and  a  month,  nnd  a  year," 
or  for  three  hundred  and  ninety-one 
years  and  fifteen  days ;  and  when  that 
term  had  expired,  their  progress  was  at 
an  end.  Thenceforward  the  crescent 
must  wane. 

In  the  facts  developed,  there  are  also 
all  the  other  particulars  of  the  prescript 
history.  We  have  the  four  powers  in, 
or  contiguous  to,  the  Euphratean  valley; 


LECTURE  XIX. 


165 


they  were  checked  by  the  crusades  ;  they 
coalesced  speedily  into  one;  their  ar- 
mies were  vastly  numerous,  and  despe- 
rately ferocious ;  they  were  composed 
chiefly  of  cavalry  ;  they  made  great  and 
effectual  use  of  gunpowder  ;  their  equip- 
ments and  standards  bore  the  mingled 
hues  of  red,  blue,  and  yellow ;  they  left 
the  poison  of  the  Mohammedan  faith  al- 
ways behind  them.  The  moral  state  of 
the  church  was  such  as  the  prophet  de- 
scribes it.  Gold,  silver,  wood,  and  stone 
idols  were  every  where  commonly  used 
in  the  churches  ;  and  lastly,  the  state  of 
morals  corresponded  thereto.  In  all  Ro- 
man Catholic  Europe  and  the  East,  they 
had  fearfully  degenerated. 

Here  then,  is  a  coincidence  that  de- 
monstrates the  truth  of  the  prophecy, 
and  at  the  same  time,  the  divine  inspi- 
ration of  the  Christian  revelation,  whilst 
it  settles  another  great  series  of  propheti- 
cal facts,  and  thus  fixes  our  chrouology 
of  prophecy. 

But  there  remains  this  question,  of 
deep  and  practical  import, — what  is  the 
final  cause  of  the  arrest  of  the  Turkish 
and  Mohammedan  power?  Why  did 
God  limit  it  to  this  time  and  territory  ? 

This  question  is  analogous  to  that 
raised  at  the  close  of  our  consideration 
of  the  first  woe ;  and  the  answer  must 
be  similar.  The  valley  of  the  Rhine 
was  the  cradle  of  the  Reformation. 
There  lay  Heaven's  most  precious  trea- 
sure, the  pure  reformed  church.  There- 
fore, the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  could 
not  disgorge  a  flood  of  desolation  suffi- 
cient to  overwhelm  it.  The  eastern 
empire  suffered  severely  in  this  war; 
because  it  was  fearfully  sunk  into  idola- 
try and  crime.  For  similar  reasons, 
the  nations  of  eastern  Europe,  and  the 
Venetians,  were  also  called  to  endure 
much.  Poland  suffered  gloriously  ;  for 
Poland  had  for  nearly  a  century  received 
into  her  bosom  the  pollutions  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  It  was  not  until 
Henry  of  Anjou  had  abdicated,  and  Ste- 
phen Batory,  who  brought  in  with  him 
the  Jesuits,  was  elected  king,  that  the 
glory  of  Polish  literature,  religion  and 
liberty  began  to  melt  away.  Even  So- 
bieski's  iron  nerve  could  scarce  resist 


the  debasing  influence  of  their  intrigues. 
But  for  the  Jesuits,  Poland  would  this 
day  be  found  in  Europe. 

So  will  God  ever  defend  his  true 
church;  so  will  he  lay  the  rod  of  cor- 
rection upon  her,  until  she  return  from 
her  wanderings,  and  acknowledge  him 
as  the  only  object  of  her  devotion ;  so 
will  he  guide  all  things  to  the  advance- 
ment of  her  holiest  interests,  and  his  own 
eternal  glory. 


LECTURE  XIX. 

THE  LITTLE  OPEN  BOOK. 
Rev.  x. ;  xi.  13. 

It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  penal  evil 
to  produce  penitential  feeling.  Men's 
hearts  are  not  made  better,  they  are  not 
won  to  the  love  of  the  law  and  its  au- 
thor, by  the  sufferings  which  it  inflicts. 
The  reason  of  this  fact  may  be  found  in 
the  original  law  of  self-preservation  ;  or 
that  inborn  and  indestructible  principle 
of  our  being  which  leads  us  to  love  life 
and  seek  happiness.  Of  course,  this 
principle  resists  every  thing  that  mili- 
tates, or  appears  to  militate,  against  our 
peculiar  enjoyment.  For  its  own  sake, 
no  man  can  love  pain,  nor  can  he  behold 
with  complacency,  the  voluntary  author 
of  his  sufferings,  as  such.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  minister  of  justice  is  very 
likely  to  become  an  object  of  dislike  to 
him  who  suffers  at  his  hand.  It  is  not 
easy  for  the  sufferer  to  avoid  associating 
with  his  hated  pains,  the  agent  of  their 
infliction,  although  his  judgment  may 
tell  him  that  he  is  simply  the  executor 
of  law,  and  must  obey  its  requirements. 
The  association  revives  the  pain,  and  he 
suffers  again  in  imagination  the  evils  he 
had  deemed  past  and  gone. 

Neither  is  it  the  design  of  penal  evil 
to  produce  penitential  sorrow  and  refor- 
mation of  life.  Its  object  is  to  glorify 
justice  and  maintain  the  honour  of  the 
laws.  The  ruler  may,  notwithstanding, 
associate  with  the  distribution  of  justice, 
such  other  treatment  of  his  subjects,  as 


166 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


is  adapted  to  produce  a  mellowing  influ- 
ence ;  and  thereby  secure  penitence.  But 
unless  some  accompaniment  of  this  kind 
do  occur,  in  vain  may  we  expect  the  vin- 
dication of  justice  to  ameliorate  the  heart 
of  man.  We  may  not  therefore  be 
greatly  surprised  at  the  effects  of  the 
second  woe  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  No  repentance  results  among 
the  third  part  of  men ;  no  general  relent- 
ing and  returning  to  God,  among  the 
survivors  of  the  Ottoman  victories.  De- 
monology,  idolatry,  and  immorality  con- 
tinue to  prevail  and  abound.  Conse- 
quently, the  righteous  Governor,  who  is 
a  jealous  God,  will  lift  his  hand  higher, 
and  inflict  still  heavier  vengeance  upon 
the  rebellious  earth. 

To  prepare  for  the  third  woe,  by 
pointing  out  its  object,  ■  nd  the  moral 
reasons  of  it,  is  the  desLn  of  the  con- 
text before  us.  It  is  a  new  vision, — 
the  fourth  to  which  the  Apostle's  eye 
was  directed. 

This  tenth  chapter  exhibits  the  agency 
by  which  the  "  little  book"  is  brought 
from  heaven ;  and  the  first  thirteen 
verses  of  the  eleventh,  give  the  contents 
of  the  book  itself.  The  former,  we  shall 
pass  over  with  rapidity. 

Verses  1,  2,  3.  "  And  I  saw  another 
mighty  angel  come  down  from  heaven, 
clothed  with  a  cloud,  and  a  rainbow  was 
upon  his  head,  and  his  face  was  as  it 
were  the  sun  ;  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of 
fire ;  and  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little 
book  open ;  and  he  set  his  right  foot 
upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  on  the 
earth,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  as 
when  a  lion  roareth :  and  when  he 
had  cried,  seven  thunders  uttered  their 
voices." 

The  phrase,  "  another  mighty  angel," 
implies  that  one  had  been  previously 
seen.  This  we  find  to  have  been  the 
case,  in  chapter  v.  2,  where  the  original 
is  the  same,  but  is  translated,  a  "  strong 
angel ,-"  and  where  the  connexion  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  created  messenger 
of  God.  In  the  present  case,  however, 
we  think,  with  Doctor  McLcod,  that  the 
uncreated  angel,  Jehovah,  is  intended. 
This  opinion  is  deduced  from  the  con- 
text. 


1.  His  clothing  is  a  cloud.  Jesus 
"  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received 
him  out  of  their  sight."  (Acts  i.  9.) 
And  John,  in  this  book,  (ch.  i.  7,)  says 
of  him,  "Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds." 
"  And  I  looked  and  beheld  a  white  cloud, 
and  upon  the  cloud  one  sat,  like  unto 
the  son  of  man."  (xiv.  14.) 

2.  The  "  rainbow  upon  his  head," 
leads  to  the  same  conclusion.  It  is  a 
symbol  of  covenant  promises,  and  stood 
above  the  throne,  (Ch.  iv.)  No  in- 
stance exists  of  this  bow  surrounding 
the  head  of  created  angels. 

3.  His  face  being  like  the  sun,  seems 
also  to  refer  us  to  the  description  of 
Christ,  in  ch.  i.  16, — "  his  countenance 
was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength." 

4.  His  "  feet  as  pillars  of  fire;" — this 
evidently  directs  our  attention  to  the 
same  account ;  "  his  feet  like  unt  fine 
brass  as  if  thev  burned  in  a  furnace." 
(Ch.  i.  15.) 

These  will  satisfy  most  readers,  that 
this  angel  is  the  Mighty  God,  our  Re- 
deemer. Yet  his  works  and  sayings,  as 
we  advance,  will  greatly  confirm  if  need 
be,  this  conviction. 

"  He  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book 
open,"  or  rather  opened.  It  was  not, 
like  the  large  book,  given  to  him  shut 
up,  and  sealed,  to  intimate  that  the  mat- 
ters comprehended  in  it  were  all  yet  fu- 
ture :  but  it  was  opened  when  he  ap- 
peared with  it  in  his  hand.  He  de- 
scended with  it,  in  the  midst  of  passing 
events,  and  whilst  they  were  in  a  course 
of  developement.  Therefore,  this  little 
book  is  already  opened.  It  is  an  epi- 
sode,— a  kind  of  large  parenthesis, 
thrown  into  another  book ;  having  an 
important  connexion  with,  and  influence 
upon  it ;  yet  whose  matter  may  be  con- 
templated for  a  moment  in  a  distinct 
form. 

The  right  foot  is  that  which  we  most 
naturally  use  when  we  wish  to  exert  the 
greatest  power.  The  act  of  placing  the 
foot  down  upon  any  thing,  very  forcibly 
expresses  the  idea  of  absolute  dominion 
and  control  over  it. 

This  mighty  messenger  of  God, 
clothed  with  a  cloud,  and  adorned  with 
a  rainbow,  whose  face  was   bright   as 


LECTURE  XIX. 


167 


the  sun,  and  his  feet  like  fire,  asserts 
and  exercises  his  authority  over  the  agi- 
tated sea  of  human  population,  and  rules 
amid  their  boisterous  commotions,  as 
well  as  in  the  calm.  He  then  lifts  up 
his  voice,  and  by  the  thunder  of  his  om- 
nipotence, commands  attention.  To  that 
dread  voice,  seven  thunders  respond. 

Verse  4.  "  And  when  the  seven  thun- 
ders had  uttered  their  voices,  I  was  about 
to  write  :  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  hea- 
ven, saying  unto  me,  '  Seal  up  those 
things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered, 
and  write  them  not.'  " 

It  is  manifest  that  the  seven  thunders 
are  signs  of  the  matters  contained  in 
the  third  woe.  About  to  record  what 
the  seven  thunders  had  spoken,  the  pro- 
phet was  checked  by  a  voice  from  hea- 
ven, and  directed  to  seal  them,  and  not 
to  write  them.  This  intimates  with 
beautiful  simplicity  that  the  time  for  dis- 
playing or  developing  the  things  spoken 
by  these  thunders,  had  not  yet  arrived. 
If  they  were  written,  and  the  book  open- 
ed, they  would  be  at  once  legible;  but 
the  second  woe  is  not  yet  over  when  this 
vision  is  presented  ;  whereas,  the  matter 
of  these  thunders  belongs  to  the  third. 
He  is  therefore,  directed  not  to  write, 
but  to  seal  up  and  preserve  them  until 
their  proper  time. 

But  this  subject, — the  last  terrible 
judgments  of  Heaven  upon  the  anti- 
christian  powers,  is  cause  of  great  in- 
terest to  the  Church,  and  of  deep 
anxiety  to  her  watchmen.  It  was  in 
reference  to  this  very  thing,  that  the  in- 
quiry was  so  eagerly  pressed  by  the 
man  clothed  in  white  linen  : — "  How 
long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  won- 
ders ?"  And  the  answer  is  :  "  Until  a 
time,  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time." 
(Dan.  xii.  6,  7.)  In  the  present  case 
also,  and  in  regard  to  the  same  matter, 
the  action  is  similar  in  form,  and  the 
same  in  substance. 

Verses  5,  6,  7.  "  And  the  angel 
which  I  saw  stand  upon  the  sea  and 
upon  the  earth,  lifted  up  his  hand  to  hea- 
ven, and  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for 
ever  and  ever,  who  created  heaven,  and 
the  things  that  therein  are,  and  the 
earth,  and   the  things  that  therein  are, 


and  the  sea,  and  the  things  which  are 
therein,  that  there  should  be  time  no 
longer.  But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of 
the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin 
to  sound,  the  mystery  of  God  should  be 
finished,  as  he  hath  declared  to  his  ser- 
vants the  prophets." 

The  first  particular  to  be  observed 
here  is,  the  form,  or  outward  action  ac- 
companying the  oath  ;  "  he  lifted  up  his 
hand  toward  heaven,"  an  act  most  sig- 
nificant of  a  solemn  appeal  to  God,  as 
every  oath  is.  This  form  of  oath  was 
used  by  Abraham,  Gen.  xiv.  22 ;  by 
God  himself,  Deut.  xxxii.  40,  expressing 
his  custom ;  Ezek.  xx.  5,  15,  23,  28, 
42  ;  xxxvi.  7  ;  xlvii.  14. 

2.  The  person  by  whom  he  swears, — 
the  everlasting  Creator  ;  nor  is  there  any 
other  lawful  oath  than  this.  All  by  any 
other,  are  idolatry,  profanity,  and  a  rob- 
bery of  God. 

3.  The  matter  concerning  which  he 
swears, — "  There  should  be  time  no 
longer."  Can  this  mean  any  thing  less 
than  the  ushering  in  of  eternity,  or  the 
end  of  measured  duration  ?  But  do  the 
latter  part  of  the  second  woe,  and  the 
whole  of  the  third,  lie  in  eternity?  Can 
the  angel  intend  to  affirm  this  1  Impos- 
sible,— for  the  prophecy  afterwards  de- 
clares that"  the  second  woe  is  past,  and 
behold  the  third  woe  cometh  quickly;" 
and  so  proceeds  to  detail  the  events  of 
it.  The  apparent  difficulty  is  entirely 
obviated  by  adopting  the  translation 
suggested  by  Mr.  Mede  and  Bishop 
Newton,  almost  a  century  ago,  and 
approved  by  most  critics  since  ;  as  it 
must  be  by  every  person  who  will  look 
at  it  candidly.  The  Greek  word,  (src) 
here,  in  conjunction  with  the  negative 
particle,  not,  translated,  no  longer,  means 
simply,  yet: — "  the  time  shall  not  be 
yet."  The  only  other  instance  in  which 
this  little  word  stands  connected  with 
(Xg°'v°s)  time,  in  this  book,  is  in  chap, 
vi.  11;  where  the  souls  of  the  saints 
under  the  altar  are  told  "  that  they 
should  rest  yet,  (In)  for  a  little  season." 
All  we  have  to  do  for  the  entire  removal 
of  all  difficulty,  is  to  adopt  this  transla- 
tion of  both  words,  and  then  the  mighty 
angel  swears,  that  "  the  season  shall  not 


163 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


be  yet," — or,  the  season  for  the  things 
spoken  by  the  seven  thunders  has  not 
yet  arrived  ;  but  it  will  come  in  its  due 
order.  So  is  this  word  translated  often, 
"  while  he  was  yet  speaking  :"  "  there 
are  yet  four  months,  and  then  cometh 
the  harvest,"  (John  iv.  35.)  "  Yet  a 
little  while,  a  little  season,  am  I  with 
you,"  (vii.  33  ;)  and  the  same  occurs, 
xii.  35,  xiii.  33,  xiv.  19. 

4.  The  angel,  having  thus  checked 
the  rising  expectation,  that  the  mysteri- 
ous voice  of  the  seven  thunders  must  be 
immediately  realized  by  the  occurrences, 
proceeds  to  intimate  when  they  may  be 
looked  for, — in  the  days  of  the  seventh 
angel ;  they  belong  to  the  third  woe. 
When  the  seventh  trumpet  shall  begin 
to  sound,  the  church  must  have  every 
energy  aroused,  for  then  shall  come  the 
finishing  up  of  God's  mysterious  work 
of  vengeance ;  which  shall  be  com- 
pleted according  to  the  predictions  of 
the  prophets. 

5.  The  prediction  referred  to,  is  mainly 
that  of  Daniel  xii.,  where  the  same  sub- 
jects are  spoken  of;  but  the  prophet's 
deep  anxiety  to  know  the  time  and  sea- 
son, was  checked  ;  and  in  this  manner, 
the  things  were  sealed  up,  and  thus 
continued  mysteries. 

6.  These  awful  predictions  of  ruin  to 
the  Antichristian  powers,  are  joyful  ti- 
dings to  the  church.  The  word  trans- 
lated, hath  declared,  is  to  evangelize, — 
to  announce  good  news. 

Verses  8-11.  "And  the  voice  which 
I  heard  from  heaven  spake  unto  me 
again,  and  said,  Go.  and  take  the  little 
book,  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of  the 
angel  which  sfandeth  upon  the  sea  and 
upon  the  earth.  And  I  went  unto  the 
angel,  and  said  unto  him,  Give  me  the 
little  book.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Take 
it  and  eat  it  up  ;  it  shall  make  thy  belly 
bitter,  but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth  sweet 
as  honey.  And  I  took  the  little  book 
out  of  the  angel's  hand,  and  ate  it  up  ; 
and  it  was  in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey; 
and  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly 
was  bitter.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou 
must  prophesy  again  before  many  peo- 
ples, and  nations,  and  tongues,  and 
kings." 


We  learn  that  the  contents  of  the  little 
book,  which  the  prophet,  like  Daniel, 
was  so  eager  to  devour,  would  indeed 
be,  at  first,  very  agreeable,  but  after- 
wards should  afford  much  anxiety  and 
distress.  The  hope  of  deliverance,  and 
the  belief  that  it  will  be  effected,  ani- 
mates the  spirit,  and  buoys  up  the  heart, 
even  when  the  achievement,  by  means 
of  necessarily  attendant  evils,  gives 
much  sorrow.  The  prospect  and  assu- 
rance of  glorious  victory,  in  just  and 
honourable  war,  encourages  the  heart, 
but  the  realization  of  it  is  not  without 
much  bitterness  of  soul.  Such  we  will 
soon  discover  to  be  the  contents  of  that 
to  which  we  now  proceed. 

THE  LITTLE  OPEN  BOOK. 

Chap.  xi.  1-13. 

This  book  may  in  general  be  divided 
into  two  parts. 

First.  The  ordinance  and  duties  of 
the  Christian  ministry  during  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years  of  Antichrist. 

Second.  The  witnesses  of  God  during 
the  same  period,  and  their  enemy,  the 
object  of  the  third  woe. 

First.  "  And  there  was  given  me  a 
reed  like  unto  a  rod  ;  and  the  angel 
stood  saying,  Rise,  and  measure  the 
temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and  them 
that  worship  therein.  But  the  court 
which  is  without  the  temple,  leave  out, 
and  measure  it  not,  for  it  is  given  unto 
the  Gentiles  ;  and  the  holy  city  shall 
they  tread  under  foot  forty  and  two 
months." 

This,  it  will  be  observed,  is  a  parti- 
cular restriction  to  the  internal  opera- 
tions of  the  ministry.  In  the  first  six  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era,  the  church's 
principal  attention  was  to  be  turned  out- 
ward ;  she  was  to  be  peculiarly  a  mis- 
sionary body,  and  her  foes  were  chiefly 
external.  The  cherubim,  consequently, 
had  their  faces  and  eyes  directed  out- 
ward, not  indeed  exclusively,  but  mainly. 
Their  faces  looked  in  all  directions. 
After  the  rise  and  growth  of  Antichrist, 
the  case  was  different.  The  most  dan- 
gerous foes  of  the  church  were  within 


LECTURE  XIX. 


169 


her  own  bosom.  Real  Antichrist,  under 
the  guise  of  Christianity,  became  hence- 
forth her  most  ruinous  enemy.  The 
spirit  which  was  at  work  even  in  the 
days  of  our  apostle,  was  six  thousand 
years  in  consolidating  his  system ;  and 
so  soon  as  the  monster  developement 
occurred,  there  was  war  in  heaven, — 
the  visible  church  and  her  ministry  of 
true-hearted  men  came  to  close  conflict 
with  a  formidable  foe.  This  evil  had 
been  foretold  at  an  early  period.  The 
Thessalonians  appear  to  have  been  ex- 
cited on  the  subject  of  the  day  of  Christ, 
as  though  it  were  at  hand  :  but  Paul 
quiets  their  fears  by  assurances  that 
great  and  sore  afflictions,  in  this  state, 
await  the  church,  previously  to  the 
second  advent.  A  ruinous  apostacy 
must  first  spring  up,  "  and  that  man  of 
sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition  ; 
who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above 
all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  wor- 
shipped ;  so  that  he  as  God,  sitteth  in 
the  temple  of  God,  and  showeth  himself 
that  he  is  God,"  (2  Thess.  ii.) 

He  thus  proceeds  to  delineate  the 
strong  features  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
apostacy.  It  is  during  the  prevalence 
of  this,  that  the  special  ordinance  before 
us  becomes  requisite.  Let  us  examine 
into  its  details. 

1.  The  first  thing  that  meets  our  eye 
is  the  measuring  reed,  or  calamus, — 
"  like  a  rod."  It  was  a  straight,  slender 
cane,  very  convenient,  and  therefore 
very  generally  used,  for  a  measure  of 
longitude.  In  like  manner,  we  call  our 
longest  actual  measuring  instrument  a 
rod.  In  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  glorious 
city,  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  is  yet 
to  be,  and  to  the  description  of  which, 
there  is  undoubted  allusion  here,  the 
reed  is  said  to  be  "  six  cubits  long,  by 
the  cubit  and  a  handbreadth,"  (chap, 
xl.  5.)  Preciseness  of  actual  dimension 
is  here  of  little  consequence  ;  the  gene- 
ral idea  of  a  definite  rule  or  measure, 
being  the  thing  intended.  Our  business 
is  evidently  with  the  symbolical  meaning. 

This  meaning  can  only  be  understood 
by  inquiring  for  the  general  use  of  the 
operation  of  admeasurement :  and  we 
find  it  always  connected  with  the  idea  of 

22 


appropriation,  or  setting  apart  the  thing 
measured  to  a  special  service.  Land, 
which  lies  unappropriated,  is  unmeasured 
until  it  is  about  to  be  passed  over  to  in- 
dividuals. The  product  of  the  ground  is 
measured  when  it  is  transferred  from  the 
producer  to  the  consumer.  The  cloth 
on  the  merchant's  counter  is  measured 
when  it  is  about  to  pass  into  the  hand 
of  the  wearer.  Appropriation  for  special 
use,  is  then  the  general  idea  of  admea- 
surement, and  whatever  instrument  is 
used  for  the  purpose,  is  the  instrument  of 
appropriation.  The  act  of  measuring, 
indicates  the  transfer  of  the  thing  to  the 
use  of  him  for  whom  it  is  effected. 

What,  therefore,  is  the  only  true  and 
infallible  rule  in  things  spiritual?  Is  not 
the  word  of  God  ?  Is  not  the  church  a 
selection  of  men  separated  from  the 
world  of  mankind,  by  the  energy  of  divine 
truth?  A  careful  inspection  of  Zechariah, 
ch.  ii.,  and  of  Ezekiel,  ch.  xli.  47,  will 
convince  any  person,  that  the  man  with 
a  line  of  flax  and  a  measuring-reed  in 
his  hand,  represents  the  active  agency 
by  which  God  lays  out  his  spiritual  city, 
and  the  instrument  with  which  the  agent 
works.  In  other  words,  the  reed  is  em- 
blematic of  God's  word,  and  he  who 
holds  it,  symbolizes  the  ministry  of  his 
church. 

2.  The  person  who  measures,  is  next 
to  be  observed.  It  is  John  himself,  who 
herein  represents  that  ministry,  in  whose 
hands  is  deposited  the  power  of  govern- 
ing the  church  according  to  the  word 
of  God. 

3.  The  source  of  this  power  is  set 
forth  by  the  angel.  He  gives  command, 
"  Rise  and  measure."  This  is  the  Angel 
Redeemer,  from  whom  the  ministerial 
commission  must  come.  "  All  power  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  given  unto  me ;  go 
ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations ;" — 
go  ye  to  the  mountains, — hew  out  the 
wood, — prepare  the  stone, — bring  them 
together,  and  build  the  house. 

But  this  duty  has  three  specifications: 
the  temple,  the  altar,  and  the  people  that 
worship  in  the  temple. 

The  temple  is  the  spiritual  framework 
of  the  church  ;  the  entire  system  of  doc- 
trines,  ordinances,  and  government ;  as 


170 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


contradistinguished  from  the  individual 
members  of  it.  By  measuring  the  tem- 
ple, therefore,  we  are  to  understand  the 
faithful  application  of  the  rules,  princi- 
ples, discipline,  worship,  and  ordinances 
of  religion  to  the  social  body,  to  see  that 
all  things  be  "  ordered  according  to  the 
pattern  showed  in  the  mount."  During 
the  prevalence  of  Antichrist,  ruinous 
degeneracy  will  pervade  the  great  mass 
of  nominal  Christianity ;  and  therefore 
special  care  must  be  exerted  by  the  true 
spiritual  ministers,  to  preserve  a  pure 
body  in  the  midst  of  such  corruption. 

The  altar  is  that  of  burnt  offerings  : 
and  the  direction  of  particular  attention 
to  it,  intimates  at  once,  its  great  import- 
ance, and  the  untiring  efforts  that  will 
be  made  to  pervert  the  ordinance  which 
it  symbolizes.  God,  foreseeing  that  Satan 
would  ever  direct  his  chief  exertions 
towards  the  abuse  of  this  doctrine,  and 
especially  by  that  radical  heresy  of  Anti- 
christ, "  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass," 
calls  peculiar  attention  to  it.  He  com- 
mands his  ministers  to  apply  the  line 
and  rule  of  his  holy  word  to  the  altar, 
to  keep  uncontaminated  the  doctrine  of 
atonement. 

Those  who  worship  at  the  altar  and 
in  the  temple,  are  the  individual  mem- 
bers to  whom  discipline  is  to  have  more 
especial  reference.  Now  the  first  and 
most  important  of  all  acts  of  discipline, 
is  the  admission  of  members  into  the 
communion  of  the  church.  This  direc- 
tion of  the  Saviour,  intimates  that  during 
the  reign  of  Antichrist,  there  will  be  great 
laxness.  All  kinds  of  iniquity  and  abomi- 
nation will  be  tolerated  within  the  corrupt 
church,  if  only  its  members  will  be  obe- 
dient to  the  tyrant  of  Rome  and  his 
minions.  Hence  the  necessity  for  ex- 
treme vigilance  on  the  part  of  those 
whom  God  will  raise  up,  to  sustain  a 
pure  church  and  pure  worship  during 
this  period. 

4.  The  evangelist  is  commanded  to 
leave  out  the  court  or  area  around  the 
temple,  and  not  to  measure  it.  The  court 
around  the  tabernacle  was  accessible  to 
all  Jews,  but  not  to  any  Gentiles,  until 
they  had,  at  least,  become  proselytes  of 
the  gate.     This  class  of  strangers  were 


then  admitted  into  it,  but  had  not  access 
to  the  altar  and  temple.  Thus  the  court 
became  the  symbol  of  loose  or  nominal 
Christianity. 

The  translation,  leave  out,  is  not  suffi- 
ciently strong  ;  (hficiks  g|w)  cast  entirely 
out.  It  does  not  mean  merely  that  in 
measuring  he  should  omit  it ;  but  should 
throw  it  off, — eject  it  as  corrupt  mem- 
bers are  ejected  from  the  church.  "  Cast 
ye  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer 
darkness."  "  If  thy  right  hand  offend 
thee,  cast  it  from  thee."  "  But  Peter  put 
them  all  forth."  We  are  here  evidently- 
taught,  that  the  true  spiritual  church,  in 
and  by  her  ministry,  has  the  power, 
and  is  bound  to  exercise  it,  of  excom- 
municating the  spiritual  corruption  of  the 
apostacy. 

The  reason  is  then  given.  God  hath 
abandoned  this  court  of  nominal  pro- 
fessors to  Pagan  abominations.  They 
became  "  mad  upon  their  idols,"  wor- 
shipping images  of  gold  and  silver  :  and 
God  hath  said  in  his  wrath,  "  they  are 
joined  to  their  idols,  let  them  alone." 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be 
not  partaker  of  her  plagues." 

There  can  be  no  difficulty  as  to  who 
is  meant  by  the  court  possessed  by  the 
Gentiles.  They  are  the  same  by  whom 
the  holy  city  is  trodden  under  foot  for 
forty  and  two  months.  The  whole  un- 
broken chain  of  prophecy  binds  us  to  the 
belief,  that  it  is  the  same  power  which 
"  is  to  make  war  with  the  saints,  and  to 
overcome  them;"  the  Paganized,  Chris- 
tian Roman  Catholic  church.  They  are 
called  Gentiles  or  heathen,  because  vast 
bodies  of  the  barbarians  who  flooded  the 
empire,  were  admitted  into  the  church 
upon  a  mere  profession  of  receiving 
Christianity,  whilst  they  retained  all 
their  Pagan  idols  and  worship.  They 
were  called  Christians,  however,  by  the 
debased  clergy,  who  thus  converted 
China  and  Japan  ;  and  are  now  baptizing 
the  Sandwich  Islanders,  allowing  them 
to  retain  all  their  idolatry,  with  the  simple 
change  of  the  names  of  their  gods. 
Modern  Rome  exhibits  the  same  demon- 
worship,  which  ancient  Rome  did  in  the 
days  of  Julius  Caesar.  The  Virgin  and 
St.  Peter,  occupy  the  niches  which  the 


LECTURE  XIX. 


171 


Parthenon  once  yielded  to  Venus  and 
Apollo. 

5.  We  are  next  to  mark  the  duration 
of  this  triumphant  apostacy— -forty  and 
two  months ;  or  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  prophetic  days  or  years.  It  is  the 
same  period  during  which  the  witnesses 
are  to  wear  sackcloth,  whilst  they  pro- 
phesy :  and  hence  we  proceed  to  the 

Second  Division  of  the  Little  Book  : 
the  History  of  the  Witnesses. — In  this 
we  will  be  called  to  observe,  1.  Their 
commission, — it  is  from  God,  the  Re- 
deemer. 2.  Their  general  character, — 
they  are  witnesses.  3.  Their  number, 
— two.  4.  Their  duty, — to  prophesy. 
5.  Their  distressed  condition,  —  they 
wear  sackcloth.  6.  The  duration  of  their 
distresses,  —  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years.  7.  Their  violent  death,  its  cause 
and  circumstances.  8.  The  exultation 
of  their  foes.  9.  Their  resurrection  and 
triumph.  10.  The  destruction  of  their 
enemies,  an  overwhelming  revolution. 

1.  The  commission  of  these  men  is 
from  God,  the  Redeemer.  They  are 
not  unsent  volunteers,  but  are  called  to 
perform  a  specific  service,  which  is 
pointed  out,  and  made  plain  before  them. 
And  of  course  he  who  presents  the  com- 
mission, will  furnish  all  the  means  ne- 
cessary for  its  execution. 

2.  Their  general  character.  A  wit- 
ness is  one  who  testifies  or  declares  what 
he  knows  in  a  given  case.  In  the  Greek 
it  is  martyr  ;  which  we  i-estrict  in  Eng- 
lish, to  this  specific  kind  of  testifying. 
Every  one  who  declares  what  he  knows, 
is  not,  properly  speaking,  a  witness. 
There  must  be  an  occasion,  and  a  lawful 
call  for  the  declaration  of  the  truth. 
Ordinarily,  in  human  affairs,  a  person 
who  would  thrust  himself  forward  to  a 
tribunal,  and  voluntarily  tender  his  tes- 
timony to  the  court,  would  be  suspected 
of  some  sinister  motive ;  and  his  tes- 
timony would  lose  in  force  by  this 
gratuitous  movement.  A  witness  holds, 
in  the  judgment  of  mankind,  a  semi- 
official station.  He  is  a  minister  of  jus- 
tice between  man  and  man ;  and  we 
have  an  undefinable  feeling,  that  no  one 
should  take  this  office  upon  himself  ex- 
cept he  be  called.     So  the  Saviour,  who 


in  a  pre-eminent  sense  calls  himself  the 
"  faithful  and  true  witness,"  assumed 
his  office  when  called  of  God  the  Father. 
He  came  into  the  world  to  testify  to  the 
truth ;  and  all  the  moral  precepts  of  the 
Bible  are  his  testimony.  The  prophecies 
themselves  are  embodied  in  it,  for  "  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy." 

All  these  forms  of  witness-bearing  he 
still  practises.  By  the  agency  of  his 
authorized  ambassadors,  he  still  testifies 
in  his  law,  his  gospel,  and  his  prophetic 
visions.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  are  his 
"witnesses  of  these  things,"  (Luke  xxiv. 
48.)  This  he  declares  after  his  resur- 
rection, and  after  the  delivery  of  the 
ministerial  commission,  yet  in  connexion 
with  it.  Though  the  ministry  are,  in  a 
very  important  sense,  the  witnesses  of 
Jesus  ;  yet  we  are  not  disposed  to  deny 
this  character  and  epithet  to  any  private 
Christian,  whom  God  by  special  arrange- 
ments of  his  providence,  may  call  to 
stand  forth  in  the  maintainance  and  de- 
fence of  the  truth.  Still  we  agree  with 
Doctor  M'Leod,  that  there  were  many 
true  ministers  and  congregations  of 
Christians  during  the  period  mentioned, 
who  were  not,  in  the  emphatic  sense  of 
this  passage,  witnesses;  not  having  beem 
called  upon  to  testify  in  the  precise  form 
meant.  We  also  agree  with  Bishop 
Newton,  that  these  witnesses  or  martyrs, 
are  that  entire  body  of  faithful  Christians, 
lay  and  clerical,  who,  during  this  period, 
stood  up  for  the  pure  gospel  in  the  face  of 
opposition  more  or  less  violent,  and  con- 
tended against  the  evils,  of  the  papacy: 
many  of  whom  sealed  their  testimony 
with  their  blood. 

3.  They  are  said  to  be  two  in  number, 
in  reference  to  the  rule  laid  down  by 
Moses,  which  accoi'ds  with  sound  prin- 
ciples and  the  law  of  nature :  that  no 
capital  crime  should  be  considered  as 
proved,  unless  two  witnesses  testify  to 
the  facts.  God  will  have  a  competent 
amount  of  proof  to  establish  against  An- 
tichrist, the  truth  of  the  scripture  doc- 
trines, and  the  corruptions  of  the  man  of 
sin:  and  these  witnesses  will  confront 
him  in  the  day  of  Heaven's  vengeance. 

4.  The  duty  of  these  witnesses  is  de- 


172 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


scribed  in  a  word, — they  shall  prophesy : 
Verse  3.  "  And  I  will  give  power  unto 
my  two  witnesses,  and  they  shall  pro- 
phesy a  thousand  two  hundred  and 
threescore  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth." 
Verse  4,  "  These  are  the  two  olive  trees 
and  the  two  candlesticks,  standing  before 
the  God  of  the  earth."  They  are 
preachers  of  the  gospel  especially  :  and 
they  are  what  is  symbolized  by  the 
candlestick  and  the  two  olive  trees  of 
Zechariah  (chap,  iv.)  The  olive  tree 
produces  the  oil,  the  oil  supplies  the 
lamps,  and  thus  light  is  perpetuated. 
This  vision  is  an  improvement  upon  the 
well-known  symbol  of  Christ's  prophetic 
office, — the  candlestick.  Here  was  a 
golden  candlestick  and  golden  olive 
branches  or  trees,  to  represent  the  per- 
petuity of  the  supply  of  oil :  the  whole 
beautifully  exhibiting  that  agency,  by 
which  Christ  will  keep  up  the  light  of 
his  truth  amid  the  dark  ages  of  papal 
superstition.  "  The  seven  candlesticks 
are  the  seven  churches;"  and  doubtless 
the  lamps  of  the  candlesticks  shining 
like  stars,  are  the  ministers  of  the 
churches. 

Their  work  is  farther  described,  verses 
5  and  6,  in  allusion  to  some  ancient 
prophets  : — "  fire  proceedeth  out  of  their 
mouth,  and  devoureth  their  enemies." 
There  is  allusion  to  Elijah,  and  the  de- 
struction which  through  him  God  made 
upon  his  enemies,  in  consuming  them 
with  fire  at  the  word  of  the  prophet. 
The  second  allusion  is  to  the  prayer  of 
the  same  prophet,  that  "  it  should  not 
rain  upon  the  earth,  and  it  rained  not 
by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six 
months."  The  third  is  to  the  miraculous 
works  of  Moses  in  Egypt,  when  he 
drew  down  upon  the  land  the  fearful 
plagues  of  Jehovah.  In  like  manner 
God's  witnesses,  in  the  times  of  Anti- 
christ, shall  call  down  heaven's  ven- 
geance upon  the  bloody,  apostate  church, 
and  the  nations  whom  she  shall  have 
corrupted  with  her  sorceries.  Not  that 
these  judgments  shall  come  in  miraculous 
form,  like  those  referred  to ;  but  they 
will  come  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
the  witnesses,  in  all  the  fearfulness  of  a 
felt  reality.    As  Mr.  Faber  well  expresses 


it,  "  when  it  is  said  therefore,  that  they 
have  power  to  shut  heaven,  to  turn  the 
waters  into  blood,  to  smite  the  earth  icith 
plagues,  and  to  dart  from  their  mouth 
consuming  fire  ;  these  expressions  must 
all  be  understood,  not  in  a  causal,  but  in 
a  consequential  sense.  The  judgments 
which  these  prophets  were  severally 
empowered  to  inflict,  were  not  caused 
by  them  as  active  agents,  but  were  the 
consequence  of  their  ministry  being 
slighted."  (ii.  17,  18.) 

5.  Their  distressed  condition, — they 
are  clothed  in  sackcloth,  the  garment  of 
mourning.  This  represents  the  spouse 
of  Christ,  who  was  to  be  greatly  afflicted  ; 
and  of  course  her  watchmen  and  her 
guardians  mourn.  Ministers  of  the  true 
church,  therefore,  appropriately  adopt 
black  as  their  only  dress ;  whilst  Anti- 
christ arrays  himself  in  all  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  mingled  drapery. 

6.  The  duration  of  this  period  of 
sorrow  is  the  same  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  years  of  the  reign  of  Antichrist. 

7.  The  death  of  the  witnesses  :  verse  7. 
"  And  when  they  shall  have  finished 
their  testimony,  the  beast  that  ascendeth 
out  of  the  bottomless  pit  shall  make  war 
against  them  and  kill  them."  Verse  8. 
"  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in  the 
street  of  the  great  city,  which  spiritually 
is  called  Sodom,  and  Egypt,  where  also 
our  Lord  was  crucified." 

Particulars  must  necessarily  be  re- 
marked here. 

First.  The  time  of  their  death:  "when 
they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony." 
But  they  are  commissioned  to  bear  testi- 
mony forty  and  two  months.  Most  as- 
suredly, therefore,  they  are  not  to  be 
slain  until  the  end  of  this  period.  What- 
ever afflictions  they  may  be  called  to 
endure,  they  must  still  hold  up  the  light 
of  the  true  gospel,  and  flare  the  glorious 
torch  beneath  the  maddened  eyeballs  of 
the  Lion,  the  Dragon,  and  the  False 
Prophet. 

Secondly.  The  death  itself.  The  death 
literally  of  individuals  cannot  be  meant: 
for  those  who  have,  during  twelve  cen- 
turies, borne  testimony,  have  all  died, 
yet  God's  two  witnesses  still  live.  Indi- 
vidual martyrs  by  thousands, — yea,  and 


LECTURE  XX. 


173 


tens  of  thousands, — have  fallen,  but  the 
two  witnesses  remain.  What,  then,  is 
meant  by  their  death  1  We  would  in 
turn  ask, — what  is  meant  by  their  life? 
If  we  have  a  distinct  idea  of  it,  we  shall 
easily  understand  what  their  death  is. 
They  are  a  social  body,  consisting  of  a 
vast  number  of  churches  and  their  mi- 
nisters. Now  it  is  not  the  individual 
men,  but  the  social  action  of  the  body, 
which  constituted  the  testimony :  and 
the  life  of  these  witnesses  was  found  in 
their  associated  state.  This  is  essential 
to  their  capability  to  bear  witness :  if 
they  lose  this  capability, — if  they  are 
dissolved  and  dissipated,  and  their  social 
existence  is  no  more, — they  are  then 
dead. 

A  minister  of  the  gospel  is  ministe- 
rially dead  when  his  power  of  preaching 
is  taken  away,  though  the  individual 
himself  may  be  a  living  man  still.  If  the 
capacity  of  a  witness  to  testify  is  re- 
moved, the  witness  is  destroyed:  if  it  is 
restored,  he  is  resuscitated, — he  lives 
again.  In  the  close  of  the  tenth,  it  is 
said  that  "  these  two  prophets  tormented 
them  that  dwelt  on  the  earth," — the  fol- 
lowers of  the  papacy.  This  was  done 
by  their  proclamation  of  the  truth,  and 
by  the  administration  of  their  ordinances. 
The  social  existence  and  public  preach- 
ing of  the  witnesses  is  their  testimony. 
It  is  accordingly  suppressed,  and  shep- 
herd and  flock  are  scattered  by  the 
prowling  wolf.  This  is  their  death  ; 
the  Protestant  trumpet  is  silenced  ;  the 
social  body  that  made  its  sounds  to  qui- 
ver in  the  heart  of  Antichrist  is  dis- 
solved. It  by  no  means  implies  that 
those  who  compose  it  are  all  dead  as 
individuals  j  for  the  language  is  sym- 
bolical. Many  individuals  will  then  and 
during  that  period  hold  the  truth :  but 
not  openly  and  socially. 

Pure  Christianity  as  a  publicly  he- 
ralded religion  will  be  suppressed ;  and 
she  will  be  compelled  to  hide  her  hea- 
venly face  from  the  buffetings  and  scorn 
of  her  pursuing  foes. 

But  we  must  defer  the  remainder  of 
this  exposition  to  another  lecture. 


LECTURE  XX. 

THE  LITTLE  OPEN  BOOK,  CONTINUED. 

THE  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION  OF  THE 
WITNESSES. 

Rev.  ch.  xi.  7-13. 

Wherever  freedom  of  thought  ex- 
ists, there  will  be  diversity  of  opinion. 
And  yet,  were  human  reason  any  thing 
like  perfect,  this  would  not  be  the  case, 
in  regard  to  the  more  obvious  and  im- 
portant principles  that  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  society.  Men  might  be  expected 
to  agree  in  great  matters :  and  espe- 
cially might  Christian  men,  who  profess 
to  be  guided  by  revelation,  be  expected 
to  agree  in  their  construction  of  its  lan- 
guage. The  truth,  however,  is,  that 
they  often  differ  in  their  interpretations 
of  the  language  of  the  Bible  :  nor  is  this 
indeed  surprising;  for  there  is  no  sub- 
ject on  which  it  is  so  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect men  who  indulge  freedom  of  thought 
at  all,  to  differ,  as  on  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion ;  and  there  is  no  field  of  criticism 
in  which  we  might  as  reasonably  look 
for  a  diversity  of  opinion,  as  in  the 
Bible.  This  is  owing  to  two  circum- 
stances mainly  ; — the  imperfect  know- 
ledge men  have  of  the  languages  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people  to  whom  it  was  first  given ; 
and  the  infinite  variety  of  feelings  with 
which  men  come  up  to  the  investigation  of 
Bible  language  and  doctrine.  It  would 
indeed  be  a  marvellous  miracle,  if  there 
should  be  a  perfect  concord  in  reference 
to  minor  matters.  The  utmost  that  rea- 
son will  allow  us  to  expect  is  a  substan- 
tial agreement  in  the  great  leading  doc- 
trines. And  this  reasonable  expectation 
is  realized,  as  to  the  Bible  in  general, 
and  as  to  prophecy  in  particular.  We 
had  occasion  to  mention  several  points 
of  difference,  and  yet  it  is  evident  that 
there  is  a  general  agreement  among 
those  who,  with  proper  preparation,  en- 
ter upon  the  work  of  prophetic  expo- 
sition. 

This  remark  is  prefatory  to  a  point  in 
which   we   are   obliged    to   differ   from 


174 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Bishop  Faber,  in  regard  to  the  death  of 
the  witnesses. 

"  The  witnesses"  he  says,  "  first  re- 
ceived political  life  in  the  years  1530, 
1531,  1535  and  1537,  by  the  formal 
association  of  the  Protestant  German 
Princes  in  the  league  of  Smalkalde:  and 
shortly  afterwards  the  Roman  beast 
under  his  last  head,  and  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  his  colleague  the  tivo-horned  eccle- 
siastical beast,  began  to  make  open  war 
upon  them,  with  the  view  to  crush  the 
Reformation  in  the  bud.  Infinite  wis- 
dom determined  to  try  the  patience  and 
faith  .of  the  saints,"  by  making  him  for 
a  short  season  completely  successful  in 
his  projects.  On  the  twenty -fourth  of 
April,  1547,  he  totally  routed  the  Pro- 
testants in  the  battle  of  Mulburg;  in 
consequence  of  which  defeat,  their  two 
champions,  who  had  given  them  political 
life,  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Land- 
grave of  Hesse,  were  compelled  to  sub- 
mit to  the  emperor  on  terms  of  absolute 
discretion. 

The  prophets  were  now  politically 
dead;  but  they  were  not  long  to  continue 
so :  whence  it  is  said,  that  they  lay  un- 
buried.  The  place  where  their  dead 
bodies  were  thus  exposed,  was  a  street  of 
the  great  city,  "spiritually  called  Sodom 
and  Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  was 
crucified,"  (i.  2.)  The  bishop  then  pro- 
ceeds to  show,  and  does  conclusively 
show,  that  the  great  city  is  not  Rome 
literally,  but  the  Western  Empire :  and 
the  street  is  not  within  the  city  of  seven 
hills  literally  understood  ;  but  within  one 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  empire.  He  con- 
tinues :  "  The  tivo  mystic  prophets  were 
not,  at  the  precise  time  alluded  to  by  St. 
John,  to  lie  dead  and  unburied  through- 
out the  ivhole  of  the  great  city  ;  but  only, 
as  he  expressly  informs  us,  in  one  par- 
ticular street  or  region  of  it.  Now,  since 
their  persecutor  upon  this  occasion  was 
to  be  the  beast  under  his  last  head,  the 
street  of  the  city  where  they  were  to  lie 
unburied,  must  evidently  be  that  region 
of  the  empire  which  should  be  subject  to 
the  more  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the 
last  head.  Accordingly,  in  the  very  year 
1547,  when  the  prophets  w ere  politically 
slain  in  Germany,  the  figurative  street 


under  the  special  control  of  the  last  head, 
they  first  obtained  political  life  in  another 
street  of  the  great  city,  where  the  last 
head  had  no  authority,  by  the  accession 
of  Edward  the  Sixth  to  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land" (p.  24.)  "  Their  bodies,"  he  says, 
"  must  lie  unburied  in  this  street  of  the 
city,  precisely  three'  days  and  a  half; 
that  is,  three  natural  years  and  a  half" 
He  then  speaks  of  their  defeat  at  Mul- 
burg in  1547,  the  rejoicing  of  their  ene- 
mies, the  suppression  of  Protestantism 
in  Germany,  the  restoration  of  the  mass 
and  other  Popish  rites,  and  thus  leads  on 
to  the  resurrection  of  the  witnesses. 
"  Accordingly,  the  Reformers  again  stood 
upon  their  feet  at  Magdeburg  in  the  Oc- 
tober of  the  year  1550  ;  and  in  the  De- 
cember of  the  same  year  defeated  the 
Duke  of  Mechlenbuz-g,  and  took  him  pri- 
soner. Great  fear  now  fell  upon  all  that 
saw  them ;  but  the  time  was  not  yet 
arrived,  when  they  were  finally  to  ascend 
into  the  sy?nbolical  heaven,  in  the  very 
sight  of  their  enemies.  This  was  at 
length  accomplished,  by  the  peace  rati- 
fied at  Passau  in  1552,  and  confirmed 
at  Augsburg  in  1555  ;  by  which  the 
Protestants  were  allowed  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  religion.  Then  it  was,  that 
the  two  prophets  ascended  into  heaven, 
or,  in  other  words,  became  an  acknow- 
ledged church,"  (p.  25.) 

The  first  objection  to  this  exposition 
is  the  indefiniteness  of  time  in  which  the 
witnesses  received  life;  in  1530,  1531, 
1535,  and  1537.  They  were,  accord- 
ing to  this,  seven  years  in  coming  to 
life. 

The  next  objection  is  to  the  kind  of 
life  which  Bishop  Faber  attributes  to 
them  :  it  is  " political  life"  and  conse- 
quently they  were  "  politically  dead." 
They  received  this  political  life  from 
"  their  two  great  champions,  the  Elector 
of  Saxony  and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse," 
and  this  political  life  was  necessary  in 
order  that  they  might  be  capable  of  poli- 
tical death,  (p.  25.)  Now,  what  is  or 
can  be  meant  by  the  political  life  of 
God's  martyrs  ?  Is  it  their  ecclesiasti- 
cal existence  as  a  social  body?  If  so, 
did  the  German  princes  create  them  a 
church  of  God  ? — a  strange  source  this, 


LECTURE  XX. 


175 


for  God's  witnesses  to  deduce  their  life 
from  ! 

But  thirdly,  if  their  life,  which  they 
were  seven  years  in  receiving  from  the 
German  princes,  did  not  begin  until 
A.  D.  1530,  how  did  they  prophesy  or 
bear  witness  before  they  were  alive  ? 
The  witnesses  were  to  prophesy  in 
sackcloth,  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years,  whereas  the  prophesying  of  those 
who  received  their  life  from  the  German 
princes,  could  be  but  ten  or  seventeen 
years.  Who,  then,  were  God's  mar- 
tyrs from  606  to  1530?  Was  he  with- 
out the  competent  number  of  witnesses 
for  nine  hundred  and  twenty-four  years  ? 

Again :  they  were  slain  in  the  battle 
of  Mulburg,  on  April  24th,  1547,  and 
"  they  first  obtained  political  life,  by  the 
accession  of  Edward  Sixth  to  the  throne 
of  England."  They  are  slain  on  April 
24th,  1547,  and  restored  to  life  by 
Edward's  accession,  which  took  place 
on  the  30th  of  the  preceding  January ; 
and  yet  they  must  be  dead  three  and  a 
half  years  ! 

But  farther  still ;  they  are  killed  in 
Germany,  and  their  dead  bodies  (which 
are  restored  to  life  before  life  is  taken 
away,)  of  course  lie  unburied  where 
they  fell  ;  but  they  are  resuscitated  in 
England,  another  street  entirely:  and 
moreover,  they  stand  upon  their  feet, 
in  Germany  again,  at  Magdeburg,  in 
1550! 

The  only  reply  to  these  objections  is, 
that  the  witnesses  prophesy  individually, 
socially,  or  ecclesiastically,  but  they  die 
politically, — the  only  death,  Bishop  Fa- 
ber  says,  which  a  community  can  expe- 
rience. But  is  not  this  an  evasion  ? 
Are  we  to  be  told  that  the  witnesses  pro- 
phesy in  one  sense,  and  die  in  another 
sense, — prophesy  individually,  and  die 
politically?  or  bear  witness  socially  or 
ecclesiastically,  and  die  politically? 

The  worm  at  the  root  of  this  gourd, 
is  the  European  and  Antichristian  idea 
of  a  political  or  state  religion.  Evi- 
dently, the  bishop's  acute  mind  is  bewil- 
dered with  this  thought.  Scarcely  can 
he  conceive  of  a  church  at  all,  but  as  a 
complex,  religio-political  establishment. 
"  Before  the  prophets,''''  he   says,  "  can 


be  capable  of  experiencing  political 
death,  the  only  death  to  which  a  com- 
munity is  liable,  they  must  receive  po- 
litical life.  This  never  was  the  case 
previous  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation  ; 
therefore  Hie  prophets  cannot  have  been 
slain  before  the  Reformation,"  (p.  20.) 
But  what  an  assumption  is  this, — a  body 
of  God's  most  devoted  spiritual  servants 
suffering  '■'•political  death!''''  May  we 
not  as  reasonably  speak  of  the  Christian 
ministry  suffering  literary  or  mathema- 
tical death  ! 

Away  then  with  these  Antichristian 
conceptions.  God's  two  witnesses  are, 
as  Bishop  Newton  and  the  majority  of 
sound  interpi-eters  agree,  the  entire  body 
of  the  true  church,  who  during  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  Papal 
oppression  and  persecution,  are  called 
upon  in  his  divine  providence  to  stand 
out  in  opposition  to  the  corruptions  of 
the  Papacy;  millions  of  whom  sealed 
their  testimony  with  their  blood.  Now, 
it  is  impossible  to  condense  the  historical 
matter  covered  by  this  preaching  of  the 
witnesses,  into  bounds  consistent  with 
the  limits  of  these  lectures.  It  would 
be  most  satisfactory  to  go  into  the  detail, 
and  to  show,  by  quoting  the  authorities, 
that  there  have  existed  always  many 
pure  churches  who  never  fell  into  the 
corruptions  of  the  Papacy;  but  who  still 
emitted  rays  of  divine  light  in  the  midst 
of  this  darkness.  There  were  congre- 
gations and  ministers,  associations  and 
councils,  not  a  few,  who  bore  witness  to 
the  truth.  But  this  detail  would  occupy 
too  much  space.  Even  Bishop  Newton's 
excellent  summary  of  this  matter,  in 
which  he  constantly  quotes  original  au- 
thorities, must  be  merely  referred  to. 

But,  notwithstanding  all,  Bishop  Fa- 
ber  had  in  his  mind  the  correct  idea  of 
what  the  death  of  the  witnesses  con- 
sisted in ; — the  suppression  of  the  true 
religion :  "  Protestantism,"  he  says, 
"  was  in  a  manner  suppressed,"  (ii.  24.) 
Under  this  seventh  branch  of  our  gene- 
ral division,  we  have  pointed  out  the 
time  of  their  death  ; — at  the  end  of  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  their 
prophesying  in  sackcloth. 

Thirdly,  We  proceed  to  the  instru- 


176 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ment  or  agent  by  which  they  are  to  be 
slain, — "  the  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of 
the  bottomless  pit,  shall  make  war 
against  them,  and  shall  overcome  them 
and  kill  them."  This  beast  is  said  (ch. 
xiii.  1,)  to  "  arise  out  of  the  sea,  having 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon 
his  horns  ten  crowns."  And  in  xvii.  3, 
7,  and  8,  he  is  called  "  a  scarlet-coloured 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  hav- 
ing seven  heads  and  ten  horns ;"  "  the 
beast  that  carrieth  her."  "  The  beast 
that  thou  sawest,  was,  and  is  not,  and 
yet  is,"  or  as  Griesbach  prefers, — "shall 
be," — "  and  shall  ascend  out  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  or  the  abyss.'''' 

We  may  not  here  delay  in  proof  and 
illustration,  but  simply  state,  that  this  is 
the  same  moral  monster  which  sprang 
into  being  with  the  iron  sceptre  of  Nim- 
rod, — the  same  with  Daniel's  lion,  bear, 
leopard,  and  nondescript.  Now  it  is  the 
iron  kingdom, — the  legitimacy  of  our 
day.  It  was  of  old, — it  is  not  now  ex- 
istent in  any  visible  unity  of  head,  and 
it  shall  be.  At  present  it  is  divided.  It 
ceased  to  be,  as  some  will  have  it,  upon 
the  dethronement  of  Augustulus,  in  476, 
and  was  revived  by  Charlemagne,  in 
800 ;  or  more  correctly,  it  passed,  as  to 
its  visible  form,  to  the  eastern  emperor, 
on  the  fall  of  Augustulus,  and  was  di- 
vided again  on  the  coronation  of  Charle- 
magne. Upon  the  subversion  of  the 
eastern  empire  by  Mohammed  II.,  in 
1553,  the  Emperor  of  Germany  re- 
mained sole  visible  head,  until  the  abdi- 
cation of  Francis  II,,  in  1806.  There 
is  no  concentrated  unity  visible  now ; 
still  it  exists;  and  the  spirit  and  life  are 
there.  But  "it  shall  be,"  is  the  lan- 
guage of  prophecy.  We  are  speaking, 
it  will  be  borne  in  mind,  of  unfulfilled 
prediction,  and,  therefore,  let  it  be  re- 
membered, that  we  only  state  what  will 
probably  be.  We  arrogate  prophetic 
power  no  more  than  when  looking  upon 
the  heavens,  we  say,  "  it  will  be  foul 
weather,  for  the  sky  is  red  and  lower- 
ing." It  is  probable  then,  that  at  a 
period  not  farther  distant  than  twenty- 
six  years  from  the  present,*  the  king- 


*  This  was  written,  January,  1841. 


doms  of  Europe,  embraced  within  the 
Roman  empire,  will  concentrate  their 
power  into  one,  so  as  to  resuscitate  the 
Emperorship  of  Rome.  Which  of  the 
heads  may  be  permitted  to  wear  the  im- 
perial diadem, — whether  Austria  or 
France,  it  were  useless  in  us  to  con- 
jecture ;  yet  of  the  general  fact,  there  is 
strong  probability.  Before  the  slaying 
of  the  witnesses,  the  imperial  dignity 
will  likely  be  revived  in  the  house  of 
Austria,  with  something  of  its  ancient 
vigour,  and  become  the  centre  of  that 
tremendous  action,  which  will  prostrate 
the  cause  of  Protestantism  in  Europe, 
for  a  time. 

Still,  however,  should  the  formal  re- 
vival of  the  imperial  dignity  not  occur, 
nor  its  unity  become  visible  by  the  pro- 
clamation, or  the  tacit  recognition  of  an 
Emperor  of  the  Romans  ;  yet  the  power 
itself,  will  concentrate  into  some  Holy 
Alliance,  all  its  interests ;  and  we  shall 
have  in  reality,  a  unity  or  headship, 
with  a  controlling  power  over  the  ener- 
gies of  the  nations, — a  grand  league 
confederated  against  the  liberties  of  the 
world. 

Fourthly,  The  next  circumstance  re- 
lative to  the  death  of  the  witnesses,  is 
the  place, — "  in  the  street  of  the  great 
city." 

In  regard  to  this,  no  European  has, 
in  our  opinion,  struck  the  vein  of  truth. 
Nor  is  it  probable  that  the  publication  of 
the  true  interpretation  would  be  permit- 
ted within  any  territory  under  anti- 
christian  rule ;  perhaps  not  even  in  Pro- 
testant England  ; — nor  in  the  fatherlands 
of  Luther  and  of  Knox. 

Two  reasons  support  this  opinion. 
God  ordinarily  draws  a  veil  before  the 
face  of  his  own  beloved  people,  when  he 
is  about  to  visit  them  with  deep  afflic- 
tion. In  great  mercy,  he  conceals  the 
future  from  our  eyes,  when  our  know- 
ledge of  it  could  not  avert  from  us  the 
coming  calamities.  Whose  heart  would 
not  fail,  if  he  knew  all  the  trials  that 
await  him?  Where  is  the  soldier  so 
heroic,  that  he  would  move  on  with  the 
same  firm  step,  if  his  eye  could  foresee 
all  the  havoc,  and  carnage,  and  blood, 
and   death    of   the   battle-field  ?       Our 


LECTURE  XX. 


177 


Lord's  disciples,  notwithstanding  that 
the  truth  is  so  plain  to  us,  could  not  un- 
derstand from  his  language,  the  death 
before  their  Master.  Undoubtedly,  their 
eyes  were  mercifully  holden,  that  they 
should  not  perceive  it.  So  again  will  he 
in  kindness  hide  from  the  eyes  of  the 
lambs  of  his  flock  who  must  be  slaugh- 
tered, the  slaughter  weapon  and  the 
hand  that  wields  it,  until  the  time  is 
near,  that  they  may  not  anticipate  the 
pains  of  ten  deaths  before  they  suffer 
one.  It  seems  necessary  for  his  own 
most  holy  purposes,  that  European 
Christians  should  be  slow  to  understand 
and  believe  the  prophecies  that  foretell 
these  sad  calamities,  until  the  light 
gleaming  from  the  sword  of  their  exe- 
cution, reveals  the  dread  reality  This 
appears  a  satisfactory  reason  for  the 
many  strange  and  incoherent  exposi- 
tions given  of  the  death  of  the  witnesses 
by  the  most  learned  commentators  of 
the  old  world.  How  can  a  pious  Eng- 
lish Episcopalian  believe  that  "our  most 
holy,  apostolic  church"  shall  again  fall 
back,  and  for  a  time  become  a  member 
of  Antichrist  ?  How  can  a  warm-hearted 
English  Dissenter  ever  see  evidence  in 
prophecy  to  convince  him  that  the  land 
of  Magna  Charta, — glorious  England, 
shall  again  groan  under  the  mercies  of 
another  Laud,  and  stand  aghast  in  mute 
astonishment,  at  the  mysteries  of  another 
Star  Chamber? 

How  can  a  Scottish  Presbyterian  ad- 
mit to  his  heart  the  terrible  conception, 
that  another  Stuart  shall  again  pollute 
the  altars  at  which  minister  the  de- 
scendants of  Knox  and  Wishart?  Or 
the  sword  of  another  Claverhouse  again 
gleam  in  the  peaceful  glens  of  North 
Britain  ? 

The  other  reason  why  these  views 
cannot  be  current  in  Europe,  is,  that 
the  interests  of  the  aristocracy  would 
not  permit  them.  Certainly,  they  could 
not  be  published  on  the  continent :  pro- 
bably, not  in  England. 

But  let  us  inquire  for  the  place.  This 
labour,  the  symbolical  description  ren- 
ders light.  It  is  in  a  part  of  that  great 
city  called,  spiritually,  Sodom.  But 
Sodom  is   the    Scripture  figure  for    all 

23 


moral  pollutions,  and  is  another  name 
for  the  spiritual  courtesan, — the  Roman 
city.  The  other  symbol  is  Egypt,  by 
which  is  meant,  the  land  of  bondage, — 
the  tyrannical  oppressor  of  the  church. 
This  also  manifestly  alludes  to  Rome, 
not  the  city  literally,  but  Rome,  the 
tyrannical  antichristian  power. 

It  is  farther  said  to  be  the  place 
"  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified." 
The  antecedent  here  is  not  Egypt,  but 
the  city,  where  our  Lord  was  crucified. 
That  is,  where,  spiritually,  the  Saviour 
is  crucified  by  the  corruption  of  his  doc- 
trines and  the  persecution  of  his  saints. 
It  is  indeed  literally  true,  that  our  Lord 
was  crucified  within  the  Roman  state, 
and  by  the  order  or  warrant  of  a  Ro- 
man governor.  But  it  would  be  doing 
violence  to  the  text,  to  take  it  in  this 
sense ;  for  it  is  undeniably  a  figurative 
passage.  This  city  or  state  is  spiritually 
called  Sodom  ;  our  Lord  is  spiritually 
crucified.  And  continually  is  Christ 
crucified  afresh,  throughout  the  Roman 
world,  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  so 
called.  In  it  there  is  a  total  rejection  of 
that  one  sacrifice  which  Jesus  offered  up 
on  the  cross ;  a  denial  of  its  sufficiency, 
and  the  substitution  of  man's  work  in 
its  stead.  This  perpetual  repetition  of 
the  sacrifice  by  the  priests,  and  virtual 
denial  of  the  efficiency  of  Christ's  one 
offering  of  himself,  has  been  and  is  prac- 
tised to  this  day  in  all  the  ten  kingdoms, 
and  in  nearly  all,  by  express  govern- 
mental authority.  Thus  our  Lord  is 
crucified  in  Sodom. 

Another  circumstance  more  particu- 
larly defining  the  place,  is  the  street 
where  the  dead  bodies  are  to  lie  unburied 
for  three  and  a  half  days.  Now  if  the 
great  city  is  the  Roman  empire,  then 
must  the  streets  of  it  mean  the  particular 
kingdoms  embraced  within  it.  In  some 
one  of  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  it  was 
divided,  must  lie  the  unburied  corpses  of 
the  witnesses. 

It  may  be  useful  to  remark  here,  that 
there  are  two  words  in  the  Greek  testa- 
ment, translated  street.  The  one  (^f«0 
signifies  any  way  or  channel,  as  it  were, 
along  which  people  flow,  without  any 
reference  to  its  width  or  capacity.     The 


178 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


other  (irXaTsfa)  means,  a  broad  way, 
wide  and  capacious,  a  great  public  tho- 
roughfare. We  will  cite  all  the  places 
where  they  occur  that  the  reader  may, 
by  inspection,  satisfy  himself  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  criticism.  The  former 
occurs,  Matt.  v.  2,  Luke  xiv.  21,  Acts 
ix.  11,  xii.  10.  The  latter,  Matt.  vi.  5, 
xii.  19,  Luke  x.  10,  xiii.  26,  xiv.  21, 
Actsv.  15,  Rev.  xi.  8,  xxi.  21,  xxii.  2. 

It  will  be  manifest  that,  as  it  is  a  most 
literal,  so  it  is  a  most  expressive  trans- 
lation, to  call  it,  the  broad  way  of  the 
city,  —  the  grand  thoroughfare,  —  the 
great  mart, — the  commercial  emporium 
of  the  empire.  In  that  one  of  the  ten 
kingdoms,  which,  at  the  time  of  their 
death,  may  and  shall  be,  the  broad  way 
of  Europe,  shall  the  bodies  of  the  wit- 
nesses lie  unburied. 

This  is  our  next  circumstance  for 
special  observation, — the  state  and  con- 
dition of  the  true  prophets, — they  are 
unburied.  Bodies  remain  unburied  fre- 
quently through  the  contempt  of  the 
enemies  who  occasioned  their  fall  ;  the 
victors  sometimes  refuse  to  permit  them 
to  be  buried  ;  or  from  the  inability  of 
the  victors  and  the  vanquished  to  give 
attention  to  them.  The  slaughter  of  even 
the  victorious  army  may  be  so  great, 
that  they  are  disabled  for  a  time  from 
accomplishing  this  work ;  still  more  so 
with  the  vanquished.  Or,  again,  bodies 
remain  unburied,  when  the  death  has 
been  sudden,  and  the  circumstances  cre- 
ate a  suspicion  that  it  is  not  really  death, 
but  only  suspended  animation,  and  there 
is  therefore  a  possibility  of  resuscitation. 
Of  these  causes,  the  two  last  may 
co-exist ;  and  indeed  all  these  causes 
may  exist  in  reference  to  the  two  parties 
in  the  war,  taken  severally.  The  ene- 
mies may  command  the  bodies  to  remain 
unburied,  out  of  contempt,  and  the  friends 
both  from  inability,  because  prevented, 
and  from  indisposition,  because  of  a  hope 
that  they  will  revive.  Now,  that  the 
last  is  the  case  before  us,  the  issue  seems 
to  show.  For  the  ninth  verse  appears 
to  describe  the  conduct  of  the  friends  of 
the  witnesses,  whilst  the  tenth  represents 
that  of  their  foes.  This  opinion  rests 
partly  on  the  force  of  the  word  trans- 


lated shall  see.  Its  meaning  is,  shall 
look  upon, — shall  carefully  and  intently 
inspect.  It  is  the  word  used  so  often  in 
chapter  vi.,  and  onwards  :  "  Come  and 
see," — narrowly  examine  into.  It  is 
well  adapted  to  express  the  conduct  of 
friends  who  are  unwilling  to  believe  the 
body  dead,  but  who  cling  to  the  hope, 
and  watch  for  signs  of  returning  life, 
and  will  not  therefore  permit  its  burial. 

Another  ground  of  this  opinion  is,  the 
form  of  expression  made  use  of,  "  And 
they  shall  look  from  Hie  peoples,  and 
tribes,  and  tongues,  and  nations,"  that 
is,  from  the  other  portions  of  the  world, 
where  reside  those  who  shall  have  been 
made  the  friends  of  the  witnesses,  by  the 
missionary  labours  described  in  ch.  x. 
11, — "thou  must  prophesy  before  many 
peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues,  and 
kings."  From  these  various  peoples  and 
nations,  they  shall  look  with  intense  in- 
terest, to  that  broad  ivay,  to  see  whether 
these,  their  friends,  the  witnesses,  will 
not  make  another  effort.  Yea,  they  will 
look  in  the  most  confident  expectation, 
founded  upon  the  sure  word  of  prophecy, 
that  the  Protestant  cause,  suppressed  by 
force  and  violence,  will  soon  rise  again, 
and  put  its  foes  to  confusion.  Therefore, 
they  will  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies, — 
the  great  principles  of  church  order  and 
doctrines,  to  be  buried, — to  be  cast  off 
and  abandoned  to  decay  and  hopeless 
ruin.  They  will  feel  and  think  as  the 
Protestants  felt  and  thought  after  the 
battle  of  Mulburg,  or  the  massacre  of 
St.  Bartholomew's  day  :  "  faint,  yet  pur- 
suing." 

In  farther  support  of  this  interpreta- 
tion, which,  for  aught  we  know  to  the 
contrary,  is  novel,  let  us  refer  to  the 
succeeding  verse.  If  both  the  ninth  and 
tenth  verses  speak  of  the  same  class  of 
persons, — if  those  who  shall  see  their 
dead  bodies  and  shall  not  suffer  them  to 
be  put  in  graves ;  and  those  who  rejoice 
over  them,  are  the  self-same  persons ; 
then  wherefore  the  necessity  of  the  ex- 
pression,— "  And  they  that  dwell  upon 
the  earthV  Is  it  not  entirely  superfluous 
and  even  burdensome  to  the  sense? — 
"  And  shall  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies 
to  be  put  in  graves ;  but  shall  rejoice  over 


LECTURE  XX. 


179 


them  and  make  merry."  This  would  be 
the  most  forcible  and  natural  expression, 
if  they  are  both  used  of  the  same  per- 
sons. But  the  new  phrase,  "  they  that 
dwell  upon  the  earth,"  is  obviously  calcu- 
lated to  point  out  a  different  class  from 
them  of  the  "  peoples,  and  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  kings." 

The  apostle  therefore,  proceeds  to  de- 
scribe very  opposite  states  of  mind  and 
conduct.  "They  from  the  nations  and 
tribes,"  are  looking  with  intent  interest 
upon  the  bodies,  and  are  utterly  reluctant 
to  bury  them;  but  "they  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth,"  exult  and  make  merry,  and 
send  gifts, — they  are  intent  upon  the 
spoils  of  victory :  felicitating  one  an- 
other upon  their  deliverance  from  the 
tormenting  influences  of  the  witnesses. 
These  heretics  are  now  destroyed,  their 
goods  confiscated,  their  churches  burnt 
or  taken  from  them,  purified  by  Popish 
lustrations  and  Jesuitical  exorcisms,  and 
fitted  up  for  mass-houses,  and  idol-tem- 
ples. The  unadulterate  truths  of  the 
Gospel  are  so  hateful  to  all  Catholic  Eu- 
rope, that  its  suppression,  by  the  prohi- 
bition of  Protestant  preaching,  will  be 
cause  of  gratulation  over  the  entire  Ro- 
man earth.  But  whilst  this  exultation 
progresses  throughout  the  empire,  it  will 
be  far  otherwise  among  other  "  peoples, 
and  tribes,  and  nations."  Some  portions 
of  Europe,  perhaps  Sweden  and  Den- 
mark, which  were  never  horns  of  the 
beast,  America,  and  the  missionary  sta- ' 
tions  of  the  Protestant  world,  now  strong 
Christian  communities, — perhaps  from 
these,  all  eyes  will  be  directed  to  the 
broad  ivay. 

Nor  does  the  language  before  us  im- 
ply that  the  witnesses  shall  not  be  killed 
in  any  but  one  street  of  the  city.  The 
broad  way  is  not  the  most  hopeless  of 
the  nations,  as  it  regards  the  true  reli- 
gion. On  the  contrary,  we  think  it  is 
the  least  hopeless.  The  witnesses  will 
be  slain  and  forthwith  buried  in  all  other 
streets.  The  confederate  powers  will 
completely  succeed  in  suppressing  free- 
dom of  thought,  action,  and  worship.  The 
Protestant  churches  in  the  other  streets 
will  be  crushed,  and  their  public  testi- 
mony for  the  truth,  put  down  without  any 


present  hope  of  speedy  revival.  But  in 
this  broad  ivay,  it  will  be  like  the  stump 
of  Nebuchadnezzar's  great  tree ;  there 
will  be  such  tenacity  of  life  as  to  survive 
the  desolating  scourge  :  and  it  is  the  firm 
belief  of  this,  that  will  turn  the  eyes  of 
the  whole  Protestant  world  so  intently 
upon  the  great  thoroughfare.  Nor  will 
their  expectations  be  disappointed. 

9.  We  proceed  to  their  resurrection 
and  triumph.  Verse  11:  "After  three 
days  and  an  half,  the  spirit  of  life  fronv 
God  entered  into  them,  and  they  stood 
upon  their  feet:  and  great  fear  fell  upon 
them  which  saw  them." 

The  period  during  which  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  witnesses  shall  lie  unburied, 
is  to  be  three  years  and  a  half.  So  long 
will  God  be  without  witnesses, — without 
a  body  or  bodies  of  his  true  and  faithful 
followers,  associated  together,  and  bear- 
ing public  testimony  against  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  man  of  sin,  and  the  tyranny 
of  the  Popish  governments  throughout 
the  Roman  earth.  In  other  parts  of  the 
world,  he  will  have  a  competent  number 
of  prophets,  even  during  this  season  of 
terrible  rebuke.  But  at  the  end  of  this 
period,  the  hearts  of  men  will  be  revived 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit :  they 
will  come  out  from  their  hiding-places, 
as  they  have  been  wont  to  do  after  the 
violence  of  the  storm  was  over.  "  Come, 
my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  chambers, 
and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee  :  hide  thy- 
self, as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  until 
the  indignation  be  overpast."  When  this 
occurs,  "  Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  to- 
gether with  my  dead  body  shall  they 
arise :  awake,  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in 
dust :  for  thy  dew;  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs, 
and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead."~ 
(Is.  xx.  19,  20.) 

Now,  it  is  surely  reasonable  to  expect 
them  to  come  to  life  where  they  died,  and 
their  bodies  lay  unentombed.  In  the 
very  same  broad  way  therefore,  we  must 
look  for  this  glorious  resuscitation  of  the 
Protestant  cause.  From  their  places  of 
secret  retreat,  and  from  the  countries 
whither  they  had  fled,  will  individuals 
issue  forth,  reorganize,  and  as  public 
bodies,  with  their  public  men  at  their 
head,  again  publish  the  great  doctrines 


150 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


of  the  Protestant  faith.  This  is  the  resur- 
rection of  the  witnesses.  Their  revival 
will  be  accompanied  by  such  evident 
tokens  of  the  divine  presence  and  power, 
— they  will  display  such  a  spirit  of  holy 
boldness,  of  daring  courage  and  spotless 
purity,  as  will  overwhelm  their  perse- 
cutors in  utter  dismay.  Their  foes  will 
gather  from  this  display  of  heroism,  and 
from  other  sources  of  intelligence,  that 
the  friends  of  free  government  and  pure 
religion,  "  from  the  peoples,  and  tribes, 
and  tongues,  and  nations,"  allied  and 
leagued  together  by  an  indissoluble  cove- 
nant, are  about  to  pour  in  upon  them, 
with  force  and  power  irresistible. 

In  verse  12,  the  prophet  proceeds  to 
depict  the  triumph  of  the  witnesses. 
"  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from 
heaven,  saying  unto  them,  Come  up 
hither.  And  they  ascended  up  to  heaven 
in  a  cloud  ;  and  their  enemies  beheld 
them."  This,  as  is  generally  agreed, 
describes  their  restoration  to  the  state 
and  condition  of  a  regular  church,  with 
all  the  public  ordinances  of  religion  ; 
and  it  affects  the  sense  little,  whether 
we  understand  the  voice  of  God  direct, 
or  the  voice  of  the  church  calling  upon 
the  recently  dispersed  and  dissipated 
bands  of  witnesses  to  reassume  all  their 
rights  and  privileges,  and  to  proceed  as 
before  their  suppression,  in  their  exer- 
cise. This  reorganization  will  be  effected 
in  the  face  of  their  enemies,  who  shall 
be  spectators  of  it.  It  will  not  be  a 
private  matter,  done  in  a  corner,  and 
unawares;  but  in  the  face  of  all  Europe; 
the  inhabiters  of  the  earth  shall  all  be- 
hold it. 

10.  The  last  thing  to  be  noticed  is, 
the  destruction  of  the  church's  foes. 
Verse  13:  "  And  the  same  hour  was  a 
great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of 
the  city  fell,  and  in  the  earthquake  were 
slain  of  men  seven  thousand  ;  and  the 
remnant  were  affrighted  and  gave  glory 
to  the  God  of  heaven." 

First.  The  particular  period  is  to  be 
observed, — "  in  the  same  hour."  Co- 
temporaneously  with  the  restoration  to 
a  true  ecclesiastical  condition,  or  the 
public  reorganization  of  the  Protestant 
churches  in  the  broad  way,  will  there  be 


a  great  earthquake :  and  beyond  ques- 
tion the  powers  and  agencies  which  were 
chiefly  instrumental  in  that  restoration, 
will  be  instrumental  also  in  removing  the 
hindrances  to  it, — in  breaking  the  arm 
of  the  oppressor. 

Second.  The  earthquake,  or,  as  we 
have  already  expounded  the  term,  the 
concussion,  results  in  the  overthrow  of 
the  tenth  part  of  the  city  ;  that  is,  the 
fall  of  one  of  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the 
Western  Empire.  Which  one  of  the 
ten  must  be  gathered  from  the  context. 
This  concussion  is  concomitant  with  the 
restoration  of  a  body  of  people  in  the 
broad  ivay,  to  a  public  social  existence  ; 
a  nation  who  had  recently  been  crushed 
by  violence,  but  who  now  recover  their 
rights  and  stand  upon  their  feet  again. 
Can  any  one  doubt,  that  the  concussion 
is  in  this  very  broad  way  ;  and  the  fall, 
is  the  fall  of  this  very  tenth  part  of  the 
city  ;  which  part  is  the  subject  spoken 
of  and  is  the  only  separate  part  men- 
tioned in  the  context  ?  We  cannot 
hesitate.  The  tenth  part  that  falls  is 
this  very  platea  or  broad  tray  itself. 
But  what  is  the  fall  ?  Does  it  imply  the 
destruction  of  the  people  inhabiting  the 
commercial  emporium,  or  only  that  of 
the  people  or  nation,  as  a  part  of  the 
city  ?  In  other  words,  that  the  broad 
way  falls  off  from,  and  ceases  to  be  a 
part  of  the  Roman  city  ; — that  this  tenth 
horn,  now  the  principal  one  as  to  in- 
fluence and  power,  especially  through 
her  wealth  and  commerce,  is  henceforth 
severed  from  the  head  of  the  great  beast  ? 
— that  this  toe  no  longer  adheres  to  the 
iron  foot?  Manifestly  the  broad  %vay 
or  kingdom  has  become  so  thoroughly 
Protestant,  and  so  fully  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  the  two  prophets,  and  their 
triumph  in  it  is  so  complete,  that  it  is  no 
longer,  and  never  will  be,  a  part  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  is  a  new,  a  reno- 
vated, a  revolutionized  kingdom,  cha- 
racterized by  republican  simplicity  and 
gospel  sincerity.     For, 

Third.  Another  accompaniment,  or 
included  circumstance  of  this  revolution 
is,  that  titles  of  nobility  are  abolished, 
— "  seven  thousand  names  of  men." 
Bishop   Faber,   and    many    others    cor- 


LECTURE  XX. 


181 


rectly  think,  that  this  refers  to  titles  of 
rank  ;  but  incorrectly  apply  it  to  the 
suppression  of  titles  in  France  during 
the  democracy.  Sufficient  is  it  for  us 
to  see  at  present,  that  this  revolution  is 
attended  by  the  suppression  of  all  titles 
of  nobility.  The  design  and  effect  of 
titles  hereditary,  and  occasionally  con- 
ferred by  mere  authority,  is  to  operate 
upon  the  imagination,  and  strengthen 
the  hands  of  despotic  power.  Titles  of 
office  are  quite  a  different  matter. 

Fourth.  The  effect  of  this  renovation 
upon  such  of  the  witnesses'  foes  as  do 
not  perish  in  this  great  street,  is  the  last 
thing  described, — being  terror-stricken, 
they  give  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven. 
It  is  not  said  that  they  are  all  truly  con- 
verted, though  doubtless  many  will  be  ; 
but  they  all  are  constrained  to  recognise 
in  the  events  before  their  eyes,  the  doing 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  fear  and  tremble 
before  him.  It  is  not  to  be  understood, 
that  this  remnant  who  are  affrighted, 
extend  beyond  the  broad  way.  It  re- 
gards only  the  survivors  of  the  revolu- 
tion, within  this  tenth  part  of  the  city. 

Before  we  proceed  to  the  question,  as 
to  which  of  the  ten  kingdoms  this  broad 
tray  is  applicable,  we  will  advert  to  the 
only  plausible  objection  that  can  well  be 
raised  against  this  interpretation.  It  is 
the  allegation  that  the  occurrences  re- 
ferred to,  came  in  before  the  termination 
of  the  second  and  beginning  of  the  third 
woe:  consequently,  that  the  death  of  the 
witnesses  cannot  be  at,  and  after  the 
close  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years  ;  but  must  refer  to  some  other 
events.  So  Bishop  Faber,  as  we  have 
seen,  applies  it  to  the  defeat  of  the 
Elector  and  Landgrave,  A.  D.  1547  ; 
and  when  he  comes  to  the  earthquake, 
in  the  very  same  context,  and  the  fall  of 
the  tenth  part  of  the  city,  he  refers  them 
to  the  French  revolution,  1789  ;  two 
hundred  and  forty-two  years  after  the 
death  of  the  witnesses  :  although  the 
text  says  that  these  events,  the  death 
and  the  fall,  occurred  in  the  same  hour. 
He  has  a  critique  to  show  that  hour  is 
used  indefinitely,  but  fails  to  produce  a 
case  wherein  it  stretches  over  two  and 
a  half  centuries.     Agreeably  to  this,  he 


was  before  under  the  necessity  of  affirm- 
ing that  rsXsaWi,  does  not  mean  shall 
have  finished  their  testimony,  but  when 
they  are  draiving  near  to  finish  it.  This 
is  unwarrantable,  yet  even  this  will  not 
help  out  his  interpretation.  For  the 
whole  period  of  their  testimony  is  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years,  which  he 
maintains  ends  in  1866.  Surely  then, 
it  is  unreasonable  to  say,  that  "they  are 
draiving  near  to  finish  it"  in  1547, 
when  he  affirms  they  were  killed, — 
which  killing  must  take  place,  when 
they  shall  have  completed  their  testi- 
mony :  and  yet  there  remain  three  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  years  of  their  testify- 
ing in  sackcloth  ! 

Now  our  answer  to  this  objection, 
and  one  which  would  have  saved  Bishop 
Faber  from  many  most  unhappy  misap- 
prehensions, and  acts  of  violence  in  this 
context,  is  simply  the  fact,  that  the  little 
open  book,  is  not  an  essential  part  and 
portion  of  the  great  sealed  book.  The 
little  book  begins  with  verse  1,  chapter 
xi.,  and  ends  with  verse  13.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  designate  in  general,  the  object 
of  the  third  woe,  and  to  present  a  run- 
ning history,  or  brief  sketch  of  the  wit- 
nesses. It  runs  back  to  their  origin,  and 
forward  to  their  fall  and  final  triumph. 
It  comprehends,  as  to  time,  the  first  two 
woes,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the 
third  ;  but  it  does  not  contain  a  history 
of  them.  The  circumstance  .of  its  being 
abruptly  thrown  before  the  eye  of  John, 
and  upon  his  page,  in  the  close  of  his 
account  of  the  second  woe,  and  just  be- 
fore he  announced  its  conclusion,  has 
led  many  a  reader  into  the  inference, 
that  it  is  itself  a  part  of  the  second  woe. 
Bishop  Faber  comprehends  in  this  little 
book  the  xi.  xii.  and  xiii.  chapters,  which 
with  its  preface,  the  tenth,  make  four 
chapters:  whereas  the  whole  Apocalypse, 
from  the  first  opening  of  the  sealed  book, 
consists  of  but  seventeen.  In  actual 
volume,  the  bishop  makes  the  little  book 
nearly  half  as  large  as  the  other  ;  to 
which  the  most  of  its  matter  belongs. 
For  it  is  evident  that  the  second  woe 
had  progressed  almost  to  its  close,  and 
the  third  had  been  spoken  of  and  pro- 
mised before  the  ano;el  descended  with 


182 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  little  opened  book  in  his  hand. 
Bishop  Faber's  mistake  therefore,  in 
embracing  these  matters  in  the  little 
book,  is  unpardonable.  The  most  we 
can  admit,  is  a  palliation  of  his  offence, 
from  the  fact  that  he  is  an  Englishman, 
and  writes  amid  the  heat  of  battle  with 
the  French  republicans. 

We  are  now  ready  to  meet  that  most 
interesting  question,  —  what  does  the 
broad  %v  ay  symbolize?  In  which  of  the 
ten  kingdoms  of  Europe  is  it  probable 
that  the  witnesses  will  lie  unburied  for 
three  and  a  half  years?  Where  will 
Protestant  Christianity  revive  in  irre- 
sistible power,  after  it  shall  have  been 
crushed  to  the  earth  and  suppressed  ? 
What  nation  is  first  and  for  ever  to  be 
revolutionized  and  separated  from  Euro- 
pean legitimacy  and  Antichristian  ty- 
ranny? 

This  question  shall  form  the  subject 
of  the  next  lecture. 


LECTURE  XXL 

LOCATION  OF  THE  SLAIN  WITNESSES. 

"And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in  the  street 
of  the  great  city." — Rev.  xi.  8. 

In  what  street  of  the  great  city  are 
the  witnesses  to  lie  unburied  ? 

Which  of  the  ten  kingdoms  is  the 
broad  way,  the  commercial  emporium 
of  Western  Europe  ? 

Before  proceeding  to  the  examination 
of  this  important  question,  allow  me  to 
repeat  the  caution,  for  your  benefit  and 
my  own  :  let  us  not  presume  to  pro- 
phesy, in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word. 
The  future  is  God's,  and  ours  only  by 
his  promise,  which  is  a  revelation.  He 
has  made  it  our  duty  to  look  forward 
and  watch  the  signs  of  the  times  :  and 
he  who  does  this,  in  the  use  of  reason 
and  Scripture  language,  must  form  opi- 
nions as  to  coming  events.  But  the 
Bible  is  not  responsible  for  our  opinions, 
unless  they  are  deduced  by  fair  and 
correct  interpretation,  and  by  sound 
logic,  from  its  meaning.     One  may  suc- 


ceed in  wrapping  up  a  wrong  opinion  in 
the  very  dress  and  livery  of  Scripture, 
so  that  a  discrimination  cannot  be  made 
between  it  and  the  right  opinion.  The 
mistake,  and  the  credulity  which  receives 
it  as  true,  will  not  change  the  divine 
plan.  God  will  unroll  his  own  book  in 
due  order;  and  our  erroneous  idea  of  its 
meaning,  in  a  given  place,  will  be  cor- 
rected. But  must  no  man  ever  attempt 
to  explain  the  language  of  the  Bible  re- 
ferring to  the  future,  through  fear  of 
committing  such  mistake  ?  Who  does 
not  see  that  the  principle  of  this  objec- 
tion would  shut  up  and  prevent  investi- 
gation into  the  meaning  of  the  historic 
and  didactic  portions  of  Scripture  also  ? 
for  errors  are  as  frequent  here  as  in  the 
other.  Would  not  this  even  foreclose 
the  avenues  to  natural  science?  Men 
have  reasoned  incorrectly:  they  have 
misread  many  pages  of  the  book  of 
nature,  and  given  wrong  interpretations 
of  her  meaning;  must  the  natural  phi- 
losopher therefore  arrest  all  farther  in- 
quiry into  nature?  By  no  means.  We 
will  ponder  her  page  ;  and  so  will  we 
study  the  book  of  revelation,  notwith- 
standing there  be  some  "  things  hard  to 
be  understood,"  and  in  which  many 
errors  have  been  committed. 

Another  preliminary  remark,  which 
is  also  preparatory,  is,  that  the  prophe- 
cies before  us  are  a  chain,  or  series, 
running  down  from  a  distant  period. 
Along  this  chain  we  have  passed  our 
hand  ;  we  have  taken  up  and  inspected 
many  of  its  links,  and  marked  their 
length,  their  strength,  and  the  actual 
union  of  each  with  the  preceding  and 
subsequent  one.  Occasional Iv  we  have 
met  with  a  few  branching  off  from  the 
main  line  ;  such  as  the  prophecies  con- 
cerning the  Jews'  captivity  in  Babylon, 
and  their  restoration  ; — the  particular 
prophecies  concerning  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  and  the  present  dispersion 
of  that  people  :  all  these  have  their  na- 
tural relations  to  the  leading  chain  ;  and 
may  constitute,  and  will  form,  to  any 
patient  inquirer,  matter  of  interesting 
discussion.  We  are  following  out  the 
great  chain,  and  are  told  that  it  con- 
sists of  a  hundred  links.    Having  passed 


LECTURE  XXI. 


183 


three  fourths  of  them,  we  can  be  at  no 
loss  as  to  our  present  position  :  but  can 
we  tell  where  we  shall  be?  We  have 
compared  the  facts  with  the  predictions, 
— the  history  with  the  prophecy,  and 
find  a  most  striking  agreement.  But 
hereafter,  the  facts  lie  in  the  future,  and 
can  we  tell  what  they  are?  Here  is 
language  prophetic ;  and  here  is  lan- 
guage historic.  It  is  evident  that  they 
agree  :  now  from  this  fact,  or  rather 
from  a  great  number  of  such  facts,  we 
can  not  avoid  inferring,  that  similar 
prophetic  language,  yet  unfulfilled,  must 
refer  to  similar  events.  From  past  coin- 
cidence of  prophecy  and  history,  we  are 
shut  up,  and  cannot  escape  :  such  and 
such  must  necessarily  be,  in  the  gene- 
ral, the  occurrences  yet  future.  We 
may  be  very  certain  of  an  important 
coming  event,  and  have  a  very  near 
approximation  to  a  knowledge  of  time 
and  place,  while  we  remain  ignorant 
of  minute  circumstances,  precise  local- 
ity, and  specific  time.  We  shall  all 
die  most  certainly,  and  that  before  a 
given  number  of  years  pass  away;  and 
very  probably  we  shall  die  in  our  own 
country,  surrounded  by  our  own  friends. 
Here  is  accurate  knowledge,  and  abso- 
lute certainty,  as  to  the  generality ,  and 
the  important  matter:  probability  only 
as  to  minor  and  minute  circumstances  ; 
but  enough  of  all  for  practical  use.  So, 
also,  the  great  events  of  prophecy  are 
fixed  ;  although  as  to  subordinate  mat- 
ters we  are  left  in  doubt. 

That  God's  witnesses  have  lived  and 
prophesied,  is  certain ;  that  they  are 
not  now  lying  dead,  or  that  they  have 
never  been  killed,  is  certain  ;  and  that 
they  will  be  put  to  death,  and  their 
bodies  lie  unburied  for  three  and  a  half 
years,  in  the  broad  way  of  the  Roman 
empire,  is  equally  certain.  Our  ques- 
tion now  relates  to  the  locality  of  the 
broad  way.  The  answer  to  this  can 
only  be  probable ;  and  yet  it  may  be  of 
infinite  advantage  to  us  to  know  the 
grounds  of  even  that  probability. 

It  is  then  probable  that  Great  Britain 
is  "  the  street"  where  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion will  be  suppressed,  and  the  pow- 
ers of  despotism  prevail  for  three  and  a 


half  years; — where  the  cause  of  pure 
Christianity  and  freedom  will  revive, 
while  for  a  time  it  will  remain  dead  in 
all  the  other  streets  ; — where  the  throne 
of  tyranny  will  first  be  cast  down,  and 
titles  of  nobility  be  abolished,  with  the 
thing  itself,  which  is  a  greater  evil  than 
the  name. 

But  at  once  we  hear  the  exclamation  : 
— "  Great  Britain  !  She  is  the  bulwark  of 
the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  has  been 
so  since  the  days  of  her  eighth  Henry!" 
Very  true ; — she  had  indeed  long  been 
the  upholder  of  Protestantism  :  and  at 
this  hour,  the  law  regulating  the  suc- 
cession, requires  the  sovereign  to  be  a 
Protestant,  educated  in  that  religion. 
Consequently  nothing  short  of  a  revolu- 
tion can  bring  about  such  a  change. 
These  admitted  facts  are  indispensable 
to  the  position  we  maintain.  Let  us 
proceed  to  the  reasons  for  believing  that 
Britain  is  the  broad  way. 

1.  This  kingdom  is  a  street  of  the 
great  city,  or  western  Roman  empire, — 
a  horn  of  the  beast, — a  toe  of  the  iron 
foot.  On  this  point  we  are  not  aware 
that  there  ever  has  been  any  diversity  of 
opinion.  All  commentators  agree  here. 
At  least  we  have  never  seen  or  heard  of 
a  list  of  the  ten  kingdoms  which  did  not 
include  England. 

Now  it  is  surely  not  necessary  for  us, 
in  order  to  evince  the  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy,  to  show  that  each  of  these 
ten  kingdoms  was,  from  its  very  begin- 
ning, a  member  of  the  antichristian 
power.  The  prediction  is  verified  if  they 
all  were  part  and  portion  of  it  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period.  And  as  it  re- 
gards England,  there  is  on  this  point  as 
little  room  for  diversity  of  sentiment.  It 
is  not  more  certain  that  England  was 
invaded  by  Julius  Csesar,  and  conquered 
by  the  Romans,  than  that  she  submitted 
herself  to  the  yoke  of  Catholic  domina- 
tion, and  bowed  in  subjection  to  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  Indeed  few  of  the 
nations  exhibited  more  debasing  signs 
of  abject  and  cringing  submission.  In 
the  twelfth  century  Henry  II.  attempted 
to  carry  out  "  the  Constitutions  of  Cla- 
rendon," which  tended  to  secure  the 
state  in  some  degree  from  the  encroach- 


184 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ments  of  the  church.  This  brought  on 
a  most  violent  contest  between  the  king 
and  Thomas  a  Becket,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  in  the  progress  of  which 
the  proud  prelate  was  murdered  by  some 
misguided  noblemen.  In  the  issue,  how- 
ever, his  cause  triumphed,  and  Henry 
was  obliged,  by  the  Catholics,  to  walk 
barefoot  to  the  tomb  of  the  tyrant,  whom 
the  Pope,  meanwhile,  had  raised  to  the 
condition  of  a  demigod.  When  at  the 
tomb  the  king  was  compelled  to  kneel 
down  and  lay  bare  his  back  to  the  scourge 
in  the  hands  of  the  holy  monks,  who 
took  Christian  satisfaction  out  of  his 
royal  skin,  for  his  disrespect  to  the  Pope 
and  his  maltreatment  of  the  Roman 
church  and  its  members. 

Other  instances  might  be  named  of 
base  subjection  to  Catholic  Rome ;  and 
the  soil  of  the  three  kingdoms  did  often 
drink  in  the  blood  of  many  of  God's 
martyrs,  shed  in  obedience  to  Roman 
Catholic  dictation,  by  the  arm  of  the 
civil  power. 

2.  England  is  now  the  only  nation 
that  can  lay  any  plausible  claim  to  the 
epithet  of  "  the  2rfatea" — the  commer- 
cial mart  of  Europe.  There  is  not  an- 
other to  whom  the  title  is  applicable.  If 
there  be,  who  will  point  it  out?  Where 
is  the  nation  that  may  be  called  the 
broad  way  1  England  claims  this  ho- 
nour, and  all  Europe  and  the  world 
award  it  to  her.  A  narrow  island,  just 
visible  upon  the  map, — yet  is  she  the 
highway  of  the  nations. 

3.  No  kingdom  in  Europe  embodies 
so  much  Protestantism  and  so  much 
piety.  Now  where  can  we  expect  the 
witnesses  to  be  killed,  to  lie  unburied, 
and  to  revive  again,  but  where  they 
are?  Can  they  die  where  they  do  not 
live?  Can  their  testimony  be  suppressed 
where  it  never  was  publicly  borne? 
Could  the  martyrs  be  slain  at  Rome, 
at  Vienna,  at  Madrid  ?  Clearly,  then, 
the  fact  that  England  has  been  and  is 
the  stay  of  Protestantism  in  Europe,  so 
far  from  creating  a  probability  that  she 
is  not  the  platea,  is  prima  facie  evidence 
that  she  is.  She  has  been  a  sad  eye- 
sore to  the  Pope  ever  since  the  revo- 
lution of  1688,  when   the  Stuarts  and 


Catholicism  were  banished  from  the  seats 
of  her  power. 

4.  But,  in  connexion  with  this,  we 
may  remark,  that  Protestantism  is  but 
another  name  for  liberty  and  representa- 
tive government;  as  Romanism  is  a  most 
expressive  term  for  tyrannical  sway. 
During  the  long  struggles  of  centuries 
which  the  British  people  carried  on  for 
liberty,  the  perpetual  recurrence  of  arbi- 
trary power  for  aid,  was  to  the  church. 
The  Roman  hierarchy  was  its  main  pil- 
lar, whilst  the  Protestant  witnesses,  be- 
fore and  after  the  days  of  Luther,  were 
always  found  on  the  side  of  freedom 
against  the  mitre  and  the  crown.  The 
Reformation  in  England  was  indeed  con- 
trolled and  in  a  good  degree  checked  by 
Henry  VIII.  The  quarrel  between  him 
and  the  Pope,  as  in  the  case  of  Henry  II., 
was  simply  for  power;  and  it  threw  the 
incipient  Reformation  into  the  wrong 
hands ; — the  hands  of  a  bigoted  Catho- 
lic: for  such  was  Henry.  The  only 
change  he  was  peculiarly  anxious  to 
accomplish  was  the  transfer  of  the  mitre 
of  supremacy  in  spirituals  to  an  English 
head,  and  the  retention  of  that  head  in 
England,  within  the  reach  and  control 
of  his  own  sword.  Thus  it  happened,' 
that  the  English  hierarchy  became,  and 
continues,  to  the  throne  of  England,  the 
same  main  pillar  which  the  Papal  hie- 
rarchy had  been  :  with  this  great  advan- 
tage, however,  that  the  king  is  the  head 
of  the  church.  The  king  appoints  the 
English  pope,  whereas  formerly  the 
Pope  made  the  English  king.  Hence 
the  pith  and  political  cunning  of  the 
maxim  of  James : — "  no  bishop,  no 
king."  But  the  true  Protestants  were, 
and  continue  to  be,  the  real  asserters  of 
Christian  and  civil  liberty.  The  English 
and  Scottish  Whigs  fought  the  battles  of 
freedom,  and  consolidated  in  the  founda- 
tions of  the  British  constitution  the  grand 
doctrines  of  the  Great  Charter.  Now, 
we  ask  again,  where  should  we  expect 
to  see  the  contest  between  despotism 
and  liberty  arrive  at  its  final  crisis, — 
where,  so  likely,  as  in  the  land  of  the 
Covenanters?  Can  any,  except  a  coun- 
try largely  Protestant,  and  extensively 
free,  become  an  object  of  peculiar  vigi- 


LECTURE  XXI. 


185 


lance,  of  perpetual  machination,  and  con- 
centrated wrath,  from  the  Pope  and  the 
Jesuits,  the  coalition  of  aristocratic  in- 
terests, and  the  revived  imperial  head  ? 

But  it  is  evident  that  such  is  the  fact 
with  regard  to  Britain.  Upon  her  the 
Papacy  is  concentrating  its  efforts.  Hun- 
dreds of  Rome's  commissioned  minions 
arc  now  at  work  in  that  island.  Special 
prayers  are  offered  up  beneath  the  dome 
of  St.  Peter's,  for  its  conversion  to  Ro- 
manism. 

5.  Again :  In  no  other  nation  of  Eu- 
rope can  we  see  any  probability  of  the 
Protestant  cause  being  suddenly  revived, 
and  permanently  restored,  if  it  were 
crushed.  But  in  Britain  there  are  two 
peculiar  characteristics  which  point  to 
such  probability  ;  yea,  to  the  certainty 
of  such  a  result. 

First.  She  is  a  kingdom  of  colonies. 
On  her  dominions  the  sun  never  sets. 
Of  these  colonies,  of  any  great  import- 
ance, Canada  alone  is  largely  Catholic. 
All  the  rest  are  Protestant,  except  as 
they  cover  and  command  a  heavy  Pagan 
population.  These  colonies  never  were 
within  the  Roman  Empire  ;  few  of  them 
existed,  and  none  of  any  great  force, 
until  after  the  partial  separation  of  Bri- 
tain from  Rome.  When  therefore  the 
government,  by  a  revolution,  becomes 
Catholic,  the  colonial  dependencies  will 
be  absolved  at  once  from  their  colonial 
subjection,  and  retaining  their  principles, 
will,  with  the  United  States,  which  were 
once  colonies,  constitute  "  the  people, 
and  tribes,  and  tongues  and  nations," 
who  will  look  on,  and  not  suffer  the 
dead  bodies  to  be  put  in  graves.  More- 
over, as  before  hinted,  they  are  well 
adapted  to  become  places  of  refuge  for 
the  fugitives,  and  to  furnish  auxiliaries 
for  their  return. 

It  is  farther  worthy  of  note,  that  the 
only  strong  colony,  largely  Catholic, 
lies  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  people 
well  able  to  check  any  movement  made 
towards  a  Papal  persecution.  The  Pro- 
testant population  of  these  United  States 
never  will  stand  quietly  by,  and  witness 
a  Canadian  St.  Bartholomew's  Day. 

The  second  circumstance  alluded  to, 
is  England's  naval   ascendancy.     This 

24 


is  indeed  part  of  her  colonial  system, 
and  may  work  wonders  in  these  times. 
We  can  readily  see  how  the  supremacy 
of  the  Ocean,  may  be  detached  from  the 
supremacy  of  the  Island.  As  in  regard 
to  the  colonies,  so  in  the  navy.  This 
change  of  the  government  will  be  sud- 
den :  it  must  be  revolutionary.  The 
commanders  of  the  fleets  and  armies, 
and  those  under  them,  will  have  sworn 
fealty  to  a  Protestant  crown,  and  will, 
of  course,  feel  themselves  absolved  from 
their  oath  to  the  sovereign  who  will  have 
forsaken  their  religion.  They  will  there- 
fore feel  free  to  throw  their  fortunes 
and  their  forces  in  with  the  friends  of 
liberty,  religion  and  the  witnesses.  Pe- 
culiarly favourable  to  this  are  the  prac- 
tical results  from  the  repeal  of  the  test 
act.  Naiv,  very  many  of  the  Indepen-. 
dent  and  Presbyterian  dissenters  hold 
commissions  in  the  army  and  navy  ; 
and  these  will  prove  very  unmanageable 
materials,  when  government  wishes  to 
support  Popery. 

We  have  an  illustration  in  the  recent 
case  of  a  Scottish  officer  who  was  court- 
martialed  at  Malta,  because  of  his  re- 
fusal to  attend  as  a  guard  at  some  Papal 
ceremonies.  Thousands  of  such,  we 
may  be  assured,  will  be  found  in  com- 
mand, when  the  cause  of  the  witnesses 
shall  need  them.  When  orders  shall 
come  to  them  from  a  Popish  crown, 
these  men  will  lay  their  hands  upon 
their  sword-hilts  : — "  Our  fathers  fought 
against  the  House  of  Stuart  and  a  Popish 
succession,  and  their  blood  still  flows  in 
our  veins.  We  are  for  God,  a  free  go- 
vernment, and  a  pure  religion." 

But  still  we  meet  the  exclamation : 
How  can  these  things  be?  How  is  it 
conceivable  that-  Britain  can  become  a 
Catholic  kingdom  ?  Are  there  any  in- . 
dications  in  Providence  that  such  a, 
change  is  possible? 

Let  those  who  waver  under  such 
questions,  bear  in  mind  that  England; 
was  a  commonwealth  in  1660.  Pro* 
testant  dissenters, — Puritans  and  demo- 
cracy, were  in  the  ascendant :  and  in 
1665,  the  Puritan  rulers  were  cast  down 
and  persecuted  by  the  bigoted  James  II. 
A  change  half  so  sudden  as  this  mav 


186 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


bring  about  all  that  has  been  suggested 
as  probable.  "  Come  and  see,"  whether 
the  sky  is  red  and  lowering  for  such  a 
storm  ;  whether  in  and  about  this  mart 
of  the  nations,  we  can  discover  any  fa- 
cilities towards  such  a  sudden  and  great 
concussion. 

Who  can  avoid  noticing  two  grand 
and  fundamental  errors  in  the  British 
constitution  :  the  union  of  church  and 
state ;  and  the  extreme  defects  in  the 
representative  system  ? 

The  former  of  these,  as  before  stated, 
is  antichristian.  The  church  of  Christ 
never  can  sustain  ..that  high  and  noble 
feeling  of  independence  on  the  arm  of 
flesh,  which  is  so  important  to  her  spi- 
ritual welfare,  when  she  is  compelled, 
at  every  step,  to  lean  for  support  upon 
the  civil  government.  If  the  ministers 
of  religion  are  maintained, — if  their  sa- 
laries are  paid  by  government,  to  this 
whole  extent  are  they  under  obligations 
to  the  civil  power ;  and  whatever  of 
strength  there  may  be  in  these  obliga- 
tions, is  diminished  from  the  ties  that 
bind  them  to  the  church.  Theoretically, 
we  cannot  perceive  how  a  body  of 
clergy,  nurtured  by  the  state,  should 
ever  have  entire  devotion  of  heart  to  the 
church  ;  and  practically,  we  think  that 
it  never  is  the  case.  Whenever  religion 
becomes  a  state  affair,  it  becomes  a  state, 
=*or  as  Bishop  Faber  would  say,  a  po- 
litical religion.  Of  facts  illustrative  of 
this  doctrine,  ecclesiastical  history,  since 
the  age  of  Constantine,  has  never  lacked 
examples. 

Nor  let  it  be  said  that  we  speak  un- 
charitably. Ministers  of  the  truth  ought 
to  be  pure-minded  men,  incapable  of 
being  influence-d  by  such  secular  and 
debasing  motives.  They  should  not  fol- 
low the  Master  for  the  loaves  and  fishes. 
What  they  ought  to  be,  and  what  they 
are,  we  will  find  to  be  different  ques- 
tions. They  are  but  men,  and  they 
will  ever,  whilst  on  earth,  be  influenced 
by  the  passions  incident  to  humanity. 
We  may  readily  admit,  that  they  are, 
less  than  any  class  of  men,  under  such 
influences:  still  they  are  under  them; 
and  the  historical  truth  is,  that  the 
church  has  always  lost  in  purity  more 


than  she  has  gained  in  other  respects, 
by  an  establishment.  The  moral  nerve 
of  her  independence  has  always  become 
paralytic,  at  the  touch  of  Mammon's 
wand,  in  the  hands  of  the  magistrate. 

This  evil  is  deeply  seated  in  the  Bri- 
tish system.  It  is  completely  interwoven 
into  the  web  of  her  policy.  She  knows 
no  other.  She  does  not  believe  it  prac- 
ticable to  keep  up  an  organized  church 
and  a  learned  ministry,  without  a  civil 
establishment.  Even  the  members  of 
the  true  church  are  so  infected  with  this 
leprosy,  that  it  will  require  them  to  be 
kept  three  and  a  half  years  in  caves  and 
dens  of  the  earth,  before  they  will  be 
prepared  to  present  themselves  to  the 
priesthood  of  a  purer  altar  for  readmis- 
sion.  It  will  take  much  effort  to  con- 
vince them,  that  the  support  of  the 
church  directly  and  immediately  by  its 
own  members,  will  amount  to  no  more 
than  intermediately,  through  the  civil 
tax-gatherer :  and  that  this  direct  and 
voluntary  support  of  the  ministry  by  the 
people,  must  strongly  tend  to  bind  to- 
gether pastor  and  flock.  These  lessons 
they  will  be  obliged  to  learn,  even 
though  it  be  in  the  overturnings  of  revo- 
lution. 

The  other  radical  error  is  the  extreme 
defects  in  their  representative  system  ; 
and  we  can  only  name  some  of  them.  In 
the  popular  branch  of  their  legislature, 
there  is  but  the  semblance  of  equity  in 
the  election  of  members.  It  can  scarcely 
be  said  that  they  are  appointed  by  the 
people.  In  the  upper  House,  there  is  not 
a  pretension  of  the  kind.  The  lords, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  are  under  no  obli- 
gations to  the  people.  In  regard  to  the 
former  class,  there  is  direct  opposition  to 
a  fundamental  law  of  Christ's  house,  in 
the  fact  of  their  existence  as  members  of 
Parliament.  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this.  * 
world,"  and  yet  the  bishops  as  such', 
form  an  important  and  very  powerful 
part  of  the  civil  legislature.  There  is 
little  probability  this  will  ever  be  reme- 
died by  mild  measures.  Yet  in  a  king- 
dom freed  from  Antichristian  corruption, 
this  can  find  no  place.  We  can  see  from 
this,  the  inevitable  necessity  of  the  great 
concussion.     The    very    principles    on 


LECTURE  XXL 


187 


which  this  House  is  organized,  must  be 
abandoned.  The  lords  are  either  here- 
ditary, or  created  by  an  act  of  the  sove- 
reign. Both  and  each  of  these  are  in- 
consistent with  that  principle  of  repre- 
sentation which  is  indispensable  to  secure 
the  rights  of  the  people,  and  which  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  scriptural  church 
government, — that  right  to  rule  over 
men  never  can  exist  without  their  con- 
sent. Whilst  we  contend,  that  govern- 
ment is  an  ordinance  of  God, — that  man 
is  so  constituted  as  not  to  be  able  to  exist 
without  it.  He  has  made  man  for  go- 
vernment, yet  the  right  to  exercise  it, 
no  particular  individual  can  have,  but 
through  the  election  of  the  governed. 
This  fundamental  principle  is  wholly  un- 
known as  to  the  House  of  Lords  and  the 
throne :  and  the  introduction  of  it,  whether 
through  violence  or  by  pacific  measures, 
will  be  a  revolution  in  the  English  go- 
vernment. 

From  the  Pagan  and  Antichristian 
principle  of  a  state  religion,  springs,  by 
an  inevitable  necessity,  if  there  is  the 
least  portion  of  freedom  in  thought  and 
opinion,  a  class  of  dissentients ;  generally 
a  number  of  classes.  The  very  idea  of 
the  government,  especially  if  it  be  found- 
ed in  part  on  gratuitous  and  forced  as- 
sumption of  power,  prescribing  and  en- 
forcing a  state  religion,  is  calculated 
to  produce  opposition.  This  results  in 
a  variety  of  sects  opposed  to  the  state 
establishment :  and  it  is  to  the  dissenting 
sects  we  wish  to  call  attention  at  present. 
In  the  three  kingdoms  united  under  the 
British  crown,  they  are  probably  a  ma- 
jority, including  the  Catholics.  Now, 
however  these  sects  may  differ  among 
themselves,  there  is  a  point  in  which 
they  all  agree ; — in  a  feeling  of  hostility 
toward  the  establishment,  and,  on  this 
question,  toward  the  government.  Hence 
the  union  of  dissenters,  in  opposition  to 
the  late  test  act,  embraced  Trinitarians 
and  Socinians,  Protestants  and  Catholics, 
Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians, 
Wesleyan  and  Whitfieldian  Methodists, 
all  creeds  and  classes,  and  men  of  no 
creed  or  class. 

Add  to  this,  what  for  its  importance 
perhaps  might  have  been  put  down  as  a 


consideration  by  itself, — the  present  po- 
sition of  the  established  church  of  Scot- 
land. It  is  Presbyterian,  and  yet  there 
are  several  very  powerful  sects  of  Pres- 
byterians, who  differ  in  some  small  mat- 
ters, and  cannot  go  into  the  establishment. 
There  are  also  Episcopal  and  Catholic, 
and  other  dissenters  in  Scotland.  But 
concerning  the  main  body  who  constitute 
the  established  church,  there  is  a  strong 
probability  that  there  will  be  an  excision 
and  detrusion  of  the  great  majority  from 
the  establishment.  On  the  question  of 
patronage,  the  ministers  and  elders  of 
the  Kirk,  are  at  direct  issue  with  the  go- 
vernment. They  maintain  that  the  peo- 
ple of  each  congregation  have  a  right  to 
choose  their  own  spiritual  guide,  and  that 
the  patron  and  the  government  have  no 
just  power  to  force  into  a  church  a  pas- 
tor whom  the  people  have  rejected  by  a 
deliberate  vote.  The  cause  has  gone  up 
to  the  present  Whig  ministry,  and  to  the 
House  of  Lords  ;  and  they  have  virtually 
sustained  the  right  of  intrusion,  or  forcing 
upon  the  people  an  unacceptable  minis- 
try. The  ministers  and  elders,  in  Gene- 
ral Assembly  met,  have  voted  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  claim  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  Scotch  Presbyterians 
never  will  abandon  their  principle.  They 
claim  for  themselves  the  right  of  electing 
their  own  spiritual  teachers,  and  that 
right  they  will  relinquish  only  with  life. 
This  conflict  is  now  going  on.  The 
people  will  soon  learn  their  strength,  and 
they  will  not  be  slow  to  extend  the  same 
claim  to  their  civil  rulers,  and  assert  their 
right  to  choose  these  also.* 

A  third  circumstance,  tending  to  show 
the  probability  of  the  English  govern- 


*  This  was  first  written  in  January,  1841. 
Since  that  time,  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  a  Tory 
ministry  have  come  into  power,  and  the  whole 
appearance  of  things  augurs  for  the  establish- 
ment the  most  disastrous  result.  It  is  now, 
(May,  1842,)  highly  probable  that  five  or  six 
hundred  ministers,  with  the  great  body  of  the 
elders  and  people  of  course,  will  be  ejected  from 
the  legal  establishment,  and  forced  into  dissent. 
Should  this  occur,  and  the  dissenting  interests 
combine,  the  English  establishment  will  soon 
begin  to  totter;  and  it  is  exceedingly  proble- 
matical, whether  it  can  long  survive  a  combined 
assault. 


189 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ment  becoming  Catholic,  is  the  state  of 
Ireland.  She  has  a  population  of  nearly 
six  millions  ready  for  any  action,  that 
they  can  be  persuaded  might  probably 
succeed  in  extending  the  power  of  Rome. 
This  population  is  the  best  possible  ma- 
terial out  of  which  to  make  victorious 
armies.  Accustomed  to  rough  and  home- 
ly fare, — to  absolute  subjection  to  their 
spiritual  rulers,  without  the  thought  of 
asking  a  reason,  they  have,  for  centuries, 
been  influenced  with  a  burning  hereditary 
hatred  towards  Protestantism.  This  popu- 
lation, the  Roman  hierarchy  are  spread- 
ing all  over  England  and  Scotland  with 
amazing  rapidity,  so  that  they  may  be 
on  the  very  spot  where  they  will  be  need- 
ed to  slay  the  witnesses.  The  priests 
have  now  an  army  of  Irish,  spread  over 
England  and  Scotland,  under  their  un- 
limited control,  abundantly  adequate,  if 
only  they  had  the  discipline,  to  set  at 
defiance  all  the  regular  troops  on  the 
home  service.  And,  farther,  it  is  not  at 
all  improbable,  that  under  cover  of  a 
"  Temperance  Society,"  the  entire  male 
population  of  Irish  Catholics  at  home,  in 
England  and  Scotland,  yea,  in  America 
too,  are  leagued  and  sworn  together  as  a 
Catholic  party,  and  secretly  pledged  to 
matters  and  things  very  different  from 
temperance.  As  to  temperance,  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  recent  report  in  the  House 
of  Commons  affirms,  that  the  consump- 
tion of  spirits  in  Ireland,  has  been  in- 
creasing since  the  temperance  move- 
ments ;  this  clearly  demonstrates,  that 
Roman  Catholic  Temperance  Societies, 
in  Ireland  at  least,  must  be  designed  for 
some  other  purpose,  or  else  they  are  a 
total  failure. 

Again,  look  at  the  combined  efforts 
in  favour  of  parliamentary  reform  for 
Ireland.  There  are  constant  meetings 
in  that  country,  professedly  preparatory 
to  action  on  the  question  of  reviving  the 
Irish  parliament ;  that  is,  in  fact,  for  se- 
vering Ireland  from  the  crown,  and  es- 
tablishing a  distinct  kingdom.  Similar 
meetings  are  holden  in  this  country  ;  and 
however  attended  and  approbated  by 
hundreds  of  Protestants,  no  man  who 
has  ever  glanced  at  Popery  can  doubt 
for  a  moment  that  all  these  meetings 


are  got  up  through  Jesuitical  influence  : 
they  are  Catholic  movements.  Now, 
on  the  question  of  right  or  wrong  as  to 
Irish  independence,  we  say  nothing  at 
present.  The  s\mp\e  fact  of  these  move- 
ments, simultaneous  with  Catholic  tem- 
perance societies  which  increase  the 
consumption  of  spirits  in  Ireland,  is  all 
we  refer  to,  as  probable  evidence  of  a 
coming  revolution.  The  national  debt 
of  England,  contracted  largely  for  sup- 
porting wars,  whose  object  chiefly  was 
to  sustain  arbitrary  power,  is  another  of 
the  circumstances  bearing  upon  our  ques- 
tion. It  is  never  expected  to  be  paid ; 
and  the  payment  of  the  interest,  renders 
her  corn-law  restrictions  necessary  ;  and 
these  again  bear  upon  her  immense  po- 
pulation of  uneducated  operatives  with 
a  crushing  weight.  The  condition  of 
these,  who  are  the  majority  of  her  popu- 
lation, is  most  deplorable,  in  regard  to 
mere  subsistence ;  still  more  so,  in  re- 
gard to  religion  and  morals.  A  very 
large  number  are  horribly  atheistical 
and  deistical,  and  are  maddened  to  fury 
against  religion,  under  the  impression 
that  Christianity  and  arbitrary  power 
are  indissolubly  united, — that  the  Chris- 
tian church  is  a  political  engine  for  op- 
pressing mankind  by  exacting  the  tenth 
of  all  products.  Here  then  is  a  vast 
mass  reduced  to  that  condition  which 
makes  men  willing  to  sell  themselves  to 
whatever  power  has  bread  to  purchase 
them  with.  Thus  the  government,  so 
long  as  means  can  be  had,  can  buy  up 
as  many  of  these  unfortunates  as  may 
be  necessary  to  answer  any  purpose ; 
and  if  at  any  time  therefore,  it  chooses 
to  change  its  religion  and  can  obtain 
funds  from  the  Catholic  powers,  the 
Protestant  cause  may  be  suppressed. 

The  moneyed  and  hereditary  aristo- 
cracy, which  are  partly  identical,  are 
deeply  interested  in  the  national  debt. 
Never  expecting  to  receive  their  princi- 
pal,  they  feel  much  concerned  in  sup- 
porting that  system  of  rule  which  wiil 
secure  their  interest.  These  dread  the 
trenchings  of  the  people  upon  the  power 
of  the  upper  classes  ;  and  there  is  every 
probability  that  this  feverish  state,  pro- 
duced by  extreme  exhaustion  on  the  one 


LECTURE  XXI. 


169 


hand,  and  repletion  on  the  other,  will 
continue  until  the  great  earthquake,  and 
be  greatly  instrumental  in  its  production. 

The  present  sovereign,  it  is  highly 
probable,  is  married  to  a  Roman  Catholic. 
The  royal  consort  is  indeed  a  Protestant 
2~>oliticalltj .  He  could  not  otherwise  be 
the  husband  of  England's  present,  and 
the  father  of  her  future  sovereign.  But 
his  father  and  family  being  Roman  Cath- 
olic, renders  it  very  possible  that  he  was 
so  brought  up  himself,  and  if  he  made 
religion  a  part  of  his  politics  to  place 
his  blood  on  a  throne,  he  may  very  rea- 
sonably be  expected,  in  case  of  the 
emergency,  to  make  politics  a  part  of 
his  religion  to  keep  it  there. 

How  then  will  the  present  infant  and 
heir-apparent  be  educated?  Of  course, 
in  the  true  Protestant  religion,  according 
to  the  act  of  settlement.  But  if  his  fa- 
ther have  the  spirit  of  a  Catholic  and 
the  cunning  of  a  Jesuit,  would  he  wish 
him  educated  openly  in  the  religion  of 
Rome?  Assuredly  not.  Such  stupidity 
could  not  be  transported  across  the  Eng- 
lish channel.  No,  but  the  future  sove- 
reign will  be  trained  nominally  a  Pro- 
testant, but  really  a  Catholic. 

The  theology  recently  divulged,  and 
now  rapidly  spreading  in  and  from  the 
Oxford  University  in  England,  may  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  this  question. 
That  University  has  always  been  Tory, 
always  on  the  side  of  non-resistance  and 
the  divine  right  of  kings  and  bishops. 
James  II.  in  his  efforts  to  re-establish 
Popery,  first  made  trial  of  Cambridge 
as  an  instrument  for  that  purpose ;  but 
found  such  a  determined  resistance  as 
induced  him  to  forbear.  He  then  tried 
Oxford,  which  also  at  first  resisted.  But 
upon  his  changing  some  of  its  officers, 
and  threatening  others,  it  yielded  and 
became  his  tool.  Oxford  is  now  fast 
becoming  what  James  and  the  Jesuits 
wished  it  to  be,  really  Catholic,  though 
nominally  Protestant.  It  is  more  than 
likely,  that  the  Oxford  divines,  (the  Trac- 
tarians)  are  Jesuits  under  a  very  thin 
disguise, — that  they  are  in  league  with 
Rome.* 

*  This  was  first  written  in  January,  1841, 


Now  with  such  agency  to  guard  the 
education  of  the  sovereign  and  nobility, 
would  the  transition  from  Oxford  high- 
church  Episcopacy  to  Roman  Catholi- 
cism, be  a  very  great  change?  Would 
it  be  any  thing  more  than  laying  aside 
a  mask,  which  was  so  very  like  to  the 
wearer,  that  his  own  friends  could 
scarcely  tell  when  his  face  was  covered 
with  it,  and  when  it  was  laid  off?  How 
extremely  easy  therefore,  may  the  trans- 
ition become  for  the  aristocracy  and  the 
monarch,  from  Protestantism  to  Popery  ! 

Take  then  into  consideration  these 
facts.  Look  at  the  radical,  antichris- 
tian  error  of  a  civil  establishment  of  re- 
ligion,— a  union  of  church  and  state. 
Look  at  the  unsufferable  and  incurable 
defects  in  the  representative  system  ;  at 
the  immense  mass  of  dissenters  and  their 
increased  and  increasing  privations  under 
the  oppressions  of  the  establishment, 
particularly  the  probable  ejection  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterians,  —  at  Ireland,  its 
Protestant  and  Catholic  dissenters ;  its 
vast  strength  ;  its  restless  spirit, — at  the 
national  debt ;  its  crushing  weight  falling 
mainly  upon  the  labouring  poor;  its  ral- 
lying the  interests  of  the  whole  aristo- 
cracy to  support  the  system  ;  the  impos- 
sibility of  its  ever  being  liquidated,  but 
by  repudiation,  or  by  revolution.  Look 
at  the  sovereign  and  nobility,  and  the 
strong  possibility,  that  the  next  genera- 
tion will  be  brought  up  with  more  than 
usual  pliability  of  conscience  as  to  reli- 
gious scruples ;  the  absolute  growth  of 
Catholicism  in  Britain.  Weigh  all  these 
things  and  ask  yourselves  whether  they 
can  abide  thus  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
— whether  many  of  these  evils  are  not 
intolerable,  and  some  of  them  utterly 
inconsistent  with  a  pure  Christianity  and 
a  practical  freedom, — whether  they  do 
not  all  portend  a  great  concussion  ? 

when  but  little  had  appeared  to  justify  the 
opinion,  in  comparison  with  what  is  now  be- 
fore the  public.  It  is  now  openly  undeniable 
that  a  strong  and  growing  party  in  English 
Episcopacy  are  real  Romanists.  Bishop  Mcll- 
vaine  has  made  out  this  charge  clearly  on  many 
points,  but  especially  on  the  great  doctrine  of 
justification.  Let  the  Tractarians  go  on  and 
prosper,  and  the  Jesuits  have  little  more  to  de- 
sire ;  Rome  is  transferred  to  England. 


190 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


That  there  has  long  been  a  heavy- 
force  pressing  upon  Parliament  for  re- 
form in  the  House  of  Lords,  is  well 
known.  That  its  power  is  increasing 
and  concentrating  is  equally  obvious. 
All  advocates  of  the  elective  principle 
combine  against  that  House.  It  may 
and  will  labour  to  strengthen  its  barriers, 
but  assuredly  the  power  increases  faster 
than  the  resistance,  and  the  longer  and 
stronger,  the  more  sudden  and  over- 
whelming will  be  the  sweep  when  they 
at  length  burst  away.  We  say  when 
the  barriers  of  the  aristocracy  burst 
mvay ;  for  we  assume  it,  that  they  never 
will  yield  to  reason,  persuasion  and  right. 
It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  usurpation  to 
abandon  power  voluntarily. 

But  even  suppose  it  otherwise — sup- 
pose the  English  aristocracy,  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  the  crown,  overcome 
by  reason  and  timidity,  should  evince  a 
disposition  to  yield  to  the  people,  to 
eject  the  bishops  from  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  to  make  its  members  elective  ; 
would  the  continental  powers  permit  it  ? 
Would  legitimacy  on  the  Continent  tole- 
rate republicanism  on  the  Island  1  Po- 
land may  answer  the  question.  Mark 
the  jealousy  with  which  they  eye  Ameri- 
can republicanism,  three  thousand  miles 
distant.  Would  they  tolerate  it  in  their 
own  bosom  ? 

Therefore  we  conclude,  that  when- 
ever the  popular  party  will  have  so 
gained  upon  their  political  opponents,  as 
to  make  them  feel  for  their  mitres,  their 
titles  of  nobility,  and  their  perquisites, — 
when  the  Lords  spiritual  particularly, 
perceive  that  their  position  is  a  tottering 
one,  they  will  purchase  interest.  The 
Oxford  Jesuits  will  make  overtures  to 
the  O'Connell  Jesuits.  The  former,  in 
behalf  of  the  high  church  party,  will 
buy  in  the  latter,  acting  for  the 
Pope  and  Catholicism  and  the  conti- 
nental sovereigns.  The  court  and  the 
aristocracy,  a  majority  of  them  at  least, 
will  become  Catholic ;  the  law  of  the 
Protestant  succession  be  repealed  or 
trampled  under  foot ;  and  thus  Roman- 
ism become  the  established  religion  of 
Britain  ;  the  Irish  will  rise  at  home  and 
all  over  Britain,  and  tender  their  services 


to  the  converted  court.  Care  will  have 
been  taken  to  have  the  commanders  of 
the  fortresses  and  fleets  at  home,  and  as 
far  as  may  be  abroad,  in  the  semi- 
Catholic  interest.  An  act  will  be  passed, 
settling  the  affairs  of  religion,  containing 
a  section  to  promote  uniformity ;  this 
act  will  be  enforced  at  the  cannon's 
mouth,  and  thus  will  be  lighted  up  the 
flames  of  another  Smithfield,  and  the 
dead  bodies  of  God's  witnesses  will  be 
piled  up  in  the  great  street  of  the  city. 

Such,  or  something  like  it,  will  pro- 
bably be  the  extinction  of  the  glorious 
lights  of  Protestant  Christianity  in  the 
British  Isles.  Painful  thought !  How 
distressing  to  the  heart  that  looks  for- 
ward to  the  triumphs  of  religion  under 
the  auspices  of  British  Christians  !  Yet 
from  this  thought  we  cannot  escape 
Yes  !  land  of  my  fathers'  sepulchres, 
thou  art  to  be  again  drenched  with  the 
blood  of  God's  holy  martyrs !  Yes  ! 
glorious  England,  thy  high  towers  shall 
be  prostrated  ; — thy  defences,  almost 
omnipotent,  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of 
thy  real  foes.  The  wild  ferocity  of  the 
gigantic  tornado  will  sweep  over  the 
cliffs  of  Albion, — the  hills  of  Caledonia, 
— the  green  fields  of  Erin  ;  and  pour 
down  in  all  their  maddened  rage  upon 
the  wide  Atlantic. 

Christian  brethren  !  shall  these  bil- 
lows reach  us  1  We  think  so.  The 
despotism  of  Europe  will  never  rest  in 
victory,  whilst  a,  free  government  exists, 
— especially  a  free  government,oivhose 
people  speak  the  English  tongue.    I 

Our  true  policy  hitherto  has  "be'en,  to 
avoid  European  politics  and  alliances. 
But  then  the  day  will  come  when  they 
will  not  keep  aloof  from  us  ;  and  then 
we  shall  have  no  election.  Flushed 
with  victory  and  triumph  in  England, 
and  enraged  at  the  threatening  encroach- 
ments of  the  spirit  of  liberty,  they  will 
come  down  upon  us  in  great  wrath,  de- 
termined to  destroy  the  nation  which  has 
so  long  been  the  source  of  this  hated 
spirit. 


LECTURE  XXII. 


191 


LECTURE  XXII. 


POPERY    IN    AMERICA. 
Rev.  xi.  1-13. 

Is  it  probable  that  the  grand  confede- 
racy of  all  the  aristocratical  interests  in 
Europe,  after  crushing  the  Protestant 
cause  there,  will  attack  America  ? 

To  this  question  an  affirmative  answer 
has  been  intimated.  We  have  touched 
upon  the  general  grounds  of  the  opinion, 
and  have  promised  some  detail  of  reasons 
in  its  support.  Before  proceeding  to 
this  detail,  it  will  be  useful  to  state  the 
general  grounds  ;  and  the  nature  of  the 
power  itself  must  be  kept  in  mind.  We 
have  supposed  a  coalition.  All  the  in- 
terests of  arbitrary  government;  the  he- 
reditary and  titled  nobility;  the  moneyed 
oligarchy  ;  the  mitred  spiritual  power ; 
the  crowned  heads  ; — all  these  combined 
into  one,  and  perhaps  under  the  visible 
headship  of  the  revived  imperial  dignity; 
and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  Popery,  will  have  concentrated  their 
forces  upon  the  citadel  of  Protestantism 
in  England  and  have  prevailed.  This 
success  will  have  added  strength  to  the 
bonds  of  their  union ;  and  it  is  to  the 
essential  character  of  this  union,  we 
wish  to  call  attention.  Consider  the 
duration  of  this  one  complex  power, — 
this  all-pervading  spirit  of  legitimacy  ; 
and  bring  it  into  contrast  with  the  cha- 
racter of  our  government ;  and  the  un- 
compromising opposition  of  the  two 
must  be  evident.  They  cannot  be  re- 
conciled. The  elective  principle  pre- 
supposes the  power  of  civil  rule  to  lie 
in  the  people ;  and  to  be  derived  through 
them  to  the  magistrates,  who  are  the 
agents  of  the  people,  employed  by  them 
for  a  specific  service.  But  the  European 
doctrine  is,  that  all  power  resides  origi- 
nally in  the  mitre,  the  crown,  and  the 
aristocracy ;  and  so  far  as  the  people 
have  rights,  they  are  merely  concessions, 
kindly  granted  by  their  superiors,  who 
received  them  from  God.  These  are 
clearly  opposing  systems,  and  therefore 
the  high  presumption,  that,  in  the  great 


crisis  of  right  struggling  against  power, 
when  the  latter  shall  have  succeeded  in 
Britain  and  Europe  at  large,  it  will 
direct  its  victorious  forces  toward  our 
shores.  Let  us  inquire  for  particular 
circumstances  favourable  to  this  general 
result,  and  that  augment  its  probability. 

1.  The  vast  increase  of  Roman  Ca- 
tholics in  this  country.  They  are  now 
computed  at  one  million,  five  hundred 
thousand,  or  one-twelfth  part  of  the  en- 
tire population.  This  will  be  accounted 
a  trivial  matter  :  one  in  twelve  cannot 
effect  much,  even  if  inveterately  hostile 
to  our  institutions.  Persons  who  thus 
reason,  seem  to  forget  the  difference  be- 
tween an  enemy  in  the  camp,  under  the 
guise  of  a  friend,  and  one  in  the  service 
and  secrets  of  the  opposing  camp.  One 
traitor  had  well-nigh  lost  to  America  the 
benefit  of  two  campaigns. 

2.  This  increase  is  by  immigration. 
A  case  of  conversion  from  Protestantism 
to  Romanism,  does  occasionally  occur, 
but  nothing  is  gained  in  this  country  by 
proselytism.  On  the  contrary,  many 
more  come  out  from  them  and  unite 
with  the  true  church,  than  apostatize  to 
them  from  the  Christian  faith.  So  that, 
relatively  to  the  Protestants,  the  Roman- 
ists would  be  losing  ground  every  year, 
but  for  importation.  The  influx  of 
foreign  Catholics  probably  exceeds  fifty 
thousand  a  year;  which  in  twenty-four 
years  would  amount  to  one  million,  two 
hundred  thousand.  But  their  natural 
increase,  and  the  stimulus  to  importation 
by  our  legislature,  as  hereafter  men- 
tioned, will  most  likely,  for  the  whole  of 
this  period,  cause  the  Catholic  population 
to  double  twice  for  every  once  that  the 
whole  population  doubles.  This,  by  the 
year  1866,  would  give  them  about  five 
millions,  or  one  eighth  of  the  entire 
Union. 

There  are  two  other  sources  by  which 
Catholicism  will  gain, — their  public  hos- 
pitals and  schools.  In  some  states  they 
have  command  of  the  public  charitable 
institutions,  and  make  them  a  means 
of  promoting  their  sectarian  interests. 
Their  schools,  however,  are  more  influ- 
ential. They  are  founded  upon  Jesuit- 
ical principles.    Great  efforts  are  directed 


192 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


to  the  gratification  of  the  eye, — the  ear, 
— all  the  senses  and  appetites,  and  thus 
to  win  upon  the  good  feelings  of  Pro- 
testant children,  and  through  them,  to 
pervert  their  minds.  In  the  advertise- 
ments of  their  schools,  they  generally, 
if  not  always,  pledge  themselves  not  to 
say  or  do  any  thing  calculated  to  change 
the  religious  belief  of  the  Protestant  chil- 
dren. At  the  same  time,  they  profess 
to  believe  that  these  children  are  on  the 
road  to  perdition :  being  heretical  in 
their  opinions,  they  must  perish  if  they 
continue  so ;  and  yet  these  teachers 
bind  themselves  by  solemn,  public  pro- 
mises, not  to  attempt  to  change  their 
religion.  There  is  most  gross  inconsis- 
tency between  this  promise  and  profes- 
sion. If  they  really  believe  that  these 
children  must  be  lost  unless  they  re- 
nounce Protestantism,  and  embrace  Ro- 
manism, how  can  they,  with  an  honest 
conscience,  promise  not  to  teach  them 
Catholic  doctrines,  nor  draw  them  away 
from  the  damnable  tenets  of  the  Pro- 
testant heresy?  Do  any  missionaries 
among  the  heathen,  in  order  to  entice 
pupils  into  their  schools,  pledge  them- 
selves not  to  teach  them  Christianity  1 
Would  any  Protestant  denomination  in 
the  world  sustain  such  a  missionary? 
Would  any  honest  pagan  make  such  a 
promise  in  regard  to  his  own  religion  ? 
Not  at  all.  This  duplicity  is  the  inven- 
tion of  the  "  mother  of  harlots." 

But  this  promise  is  kept  just  in  the 
same  Roman  faith  in  which  it  is  made. 
Every  thing  that  art  and  ingenuity  can 
devise,  is  done  in  Catholic  seminaries  to 
influence  the  pupils  favourably.  The 
teachers  never  indeed  traduce  Protest- 
antism in  the  presence  of  Protestant 
children.  They  never  ask  them  to  em- 
brace Catholicism,  or  to  read  Catholic 
books.  They  never  argue,  or  otherwise 
directly  speak  with  them  upon  the  doc- 
trines of  either  party.  But  they  place 
before  them  and  in  their  way,  the  sym- 
bols of  their  superstition :  they  excite 
their  curiosity  to  inquire  their  meaning, 
and  being  asked,  they  cannot  withhold 
a  word  of  explanation.  They  never 
urge  them  to  worship  the  Virgin,  or  any 
other  saint,  but  they  themselves  do  it  in 


their  presence  ;  and,  having  won  their 
confidence,  they  raise  in  their  minds  the 
question,  "  Can  there  be  any  great  harm 
in  this  ?  My  parents  placed  me  here : 
my  teachers  are  good  and  kind :  they 
worship  the  Holy  Virgin, — can  it  be 
wrong  then  for  me  to  do  it  ?"  They 
rather,  at  first,  prohibit  in  very  gentle 
and  mild  terms,  the  newly  admitted 
pupil  from  reading  Catholic  books.  Yet 
they  are  careless  to  leave  them  occa- 
sionally in  their  way,  knowing  well  that 
curiosity  is  not  repressed  by  a  prohibi- 
tion so  gentle,  especially  where  the  eye 
invites  while  the  voice  forbids. 

Another  means  is  that  of  guarding 
them  from  too  free  an  intercourse  with 
Protestant  friends.  They  allow  no  pu- 
pils to  write  letters  without  submitting 
them  to  the  governors  of  the  school. 
Thus  parents  and  guardians  cannot 
learn  to  what  extent  the  child  is  pleased 
or  displeased  with  Catholicism  ;  for  no- 
thing on  this  subject  is  permitted  to  pass. 

But  it  is  impossible  even  to  name  the 
ten  thousand  devices  which  they  practise 
to  allure  their  pupils  within  their  toils  ; 
and  it  is  matter  of  astonishment,  that 
conversions  to  Romanism  are  not  much 
more  frequent  in  Catholic  seminaries. 
For  no  Protestant  children  are  ever  sent 
to  them,  who  have  previously  been  reli- 
giously instructed  at  home ;  as  none 
but  parents  who  feel  little  interest  con- 
cerning the  spiritual  instruction  of  their 
offspring,  would  ever  think  of  placing 
them  in  such  perilous  circumstances. 

3.  Let  us  look  at  the  character  of  this 
imported  population  in  a  religious  aspect. 
They  have  been  drilled  from  infancy 
into  habits  of  perfect  subjection  to  their 
priests.  This  fearful  subjection  results 
from  their  belief  that  the  priest  has 
power  to  pardon  sin,  or  to  seal  it  on  the 
soul  for  ever.  Pardon  cannot  be  ob- 
tained without  confession,  and  thus  all 
the  evil  deeds  which  the  individual  has 
ever  committed  are  known  to  the  priest. 
It  is  the  confessional  that  produces  the 
cringing  submission  so  characteristic  of 
the  laity;  and  the  dogmatic  tyranny  of 
the  priest,  which  so  strikingly  contrasts 
with  the  demeanour  of  Protestant  cler- 
gymen.    Confessedly,  the   priests   can 


LECTURE  XXII. 


193 


keep  the  souls  of  the  departed  in  purga- 
tory, or  deliver  them  from  it.  The 
people  believe  ■  these  absurdities,  and, 
consequently,  the  conscience  is  in  the 
priest's  safe  keeping.  He  can  release  it 
from  trouble,  or  fill  it  with  consterna- 
tion. Never  .-was  there  an  oppression 
so  fell, — so  St&l -destroying  as  this.  The 
fear  of  God  is  nothing  to  an  ignorant 
Roman ;  it  is  the  fear  of  the  priest  that 
can  make  his  soul  tremble.  This  ac- 
counts for  the  fact  so  often  realized  on 
our  public  works,  where  we  are  feeding 
these  slaves  of  a  foreign  foe,  that  after 
our  civil  officers  and  military  bands  have 
failed  in  preserving  order,  the  priest  has 
quelled  a  riot  with  a  word.  The  same 
is  true  concerning  mobs,  which  the 
priest,  with  his  symbols  of  superstition, 
can  suppress  when  their  fury  has  baffled 
all  other  power.  In  such  cases  as  these, 
do  our  laivs  or  Catholic  priests  pro- 
tect us  1 

4.  The  strong  probability  is,  that  this 
population  will  increase,  not  absolutely 
merely,  but  relatively  to  other  immi- 
grants, much  more  rapidly.  If  we 
gained  proportionally  of  Protestant  po- 
pulation, this  influx  would  not  augment 
our  danger.  But  now  a  decided  majo- 
rity of  this  immigration  is  Roman  Ca- 
tholic. This  is  owing  to  various  causes ; 
among  which  we  may  enumerate,  first, 
the  efforts  of  the  Leopold  Foundation  in 
Austria,  Italy,  France  ;  at  the  head  of 
which,  as  to  influence,  stands  the  Empe- 
ror of  Austria  and  Prince  Metternich,  his 
arch-diplomatist.  This  extensive  and 
most  influential  society  do  much  to  pro- 
mote emigration  to  this  country,  directly, 
by  extending  aid  to  the  indigent  to  bring 
them  over  to  us ;  indirectly,  by  their 
emissaries  and  funds  sent  out  hither,  to 
accommodate  these  people  when  here. 
These  appropriations  are  very  great. 
They  have  twenty-one  bishops  in  the 
United  States,  five  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  priests,  five  hundred  and  forty-one 
chapels,  besides  fifty  in  the  course  of 
erection  ;  twenty-one  colleges,  •  forty- 
eight  female  seminaries,  and  a  great 
many  other  institutions  under  various 
names ;  all  of  which  are  planned  and 
managed    for  the  spread  of  their  sect, 

25 


which,  they  say,  embracing  the  whole 
world,  numbers. a  hundred  and  fifty-six 
millions. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  such 
liberal  provision  for  their  accommoda- 
tion, and  for  the  gratification  of  their 
religious  prejudices,  must  operate  in  ren- 
dering them  willing  to  emigrate.  But 
again ; 

5.  We  hold  out  yet  stronger  induce- 
ments. We  tell  these  poor,  degraded 
slaves  of  spiritual  and  aristocratical  op- 
pression, that  the  moment  they  arrive 
upon  our  soil  they  are  its  owners.  Land 
is  given  to  them.  They  are  not  required 
to  renounce  allegiance  to  His  Holiness, 
or  other  foreign  masters.  They  are  only 
asked  to  delay  for  six  months  or  a  year, 
and  they  may  then  be  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  soil. 
This  is  the  substance  of  our  national 
legislation  in  reference  to  the  public 
lands.  American  citizens  have  no  ad- 
vantage over  foreigners  ;  and  of  course, 
this  will  be  made  use  of  by  the  priests, 
who,  by  means  of  such  arguments,  can 
enlist  thousands  upon  thousands  of  fo- 
reign Catholics  to  come  hither.  Ac- 
cordingly, since  the  Pre-emption  Bill  of 
1841  passed  into  a  law,  immigration  has 
been  rapidly  increasing.  A  reference  to 
the  number  of  immigrants  quarantined 
at  New  York,  shows  us'  that  they  have 
more  than  doubled. 

That  the  Jesuits  in  this  country  have 
had  no  agency  in  producing  the  present 
system,  "we  can  no  more  believe  than  we 
can  believe  that  their  brethren  in  Europe 
will  not  avail  themselves  of  this  as  an 
argument  to  promote  immigration  to 
our  shores.  We  do  not  affirm  that  to 
win  favour  with  them  and  their  Catholic 
importations,  in  order  to  secure  votes, 
is  the  leading  object  with  our  national 
politicians.  But  we  do  say,  that  we  see 
not  how  any  one  who  observed  the  Con- 
gressional debates  on  the  Pre-emption 
Bill,  could  avoid  perceiving  that  the 
speakers  were  exceedingly  careful  not 
to  offend  these  immigrants. 

This  liberality  of  ours  is  very  different 
from  what  the  Jesuits  expected :  it  ob- 
viates entirely  the  necessity  of  the  fifth 
rule,  chapter  first,  of  their  Secreta  Mo- 


194 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


nita,  which  is  in  these  words  :  "  In  the 
commencement,  let  our  members  be  care- 
ful in  buying  lands  ;  but  if  they  should 
purchase  for  us  those  well  situated,  let 
this  be  done  in  the  fictitious  name  of  some 
faithful  and  confidential  friends;  and 
that  our  poverty  may  better  appear,  let 
the  estates  which  are  near  to  places  in 
which  we  have  colleges,  be  assigned  by 
the  provincial  to  remote  institutions,  by 
which  it  will  be  impossible  that  rulers 
or  magistrates  can  ever  have  certain 
knowledge  of  the  Society."  On  the  face 
of  this  rule  it  is  evident  that  the  Society 
expected  to  operate  influences  hostile  to 
the  magistrates  of  the  countries  where 
they  might  locate  themselves.  This  chi- 
canery and  deception  would  not  be  pre- 
scribed, if  honesty  were  at  the  founda- 
tion of  their  system. 

6.  But  it  will  be  proper  here  to  give 
a  slight  account  of  the  Society  of  the 
Jesuits.  It  was  founded  by  Ignatius 
Loyola,  a  Spaniard,  who  obtained  a 
charter  from  Pope  Paul  III.  in  1540. 
Its  declared  object  was  to  extend  the 
power  of  Rome,  which  had  been  very 
much  crippled  by  the  Reformation. 
Loyola  thus  addressed  the  Vatican :  — 
"  Your  ancient  props  no  longer  suffice  ; 
I  offer  you  new  support.  You  must 
have  a  fresh  army  which  shall  cover 
you  with  the  arms  of  heaven  and  earth. 
Light  makes  war  upon  you.  We  will 
carry  intelligence  to  some,  darken  know- 
ledge in  others,  and  direct  it  in  all." 
(Illustrations  of  Popery,  p.  350.) 

But  the  oath  of  the  Jesuits  will  better 
explain  their  intentions.     It  runs  thus  : 

"  I,  A.  B.,  now  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God,  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,* 
the  blessed  Michael  the  Archangel,  the 
blessed  St.  John  Baptist,  the  holy  apos- 
tles, St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  the 
saints  and  sacred  host  of  heaven,  and 
to  you,  my  ghostly  father,  do  declare 
from  my  heart,  without  mental  reserva- 
tion, that  his  holiness  Pope  Urban  is 
Christ's  Vicar  General,  and  is  the  true 
and  only  head  of  the  catholic  or  uni- 
versal church  throughout  the  earth  ;  and 


*  Here  the  omnipresence  of  Mary  and  others 
is  assumed.     This  is  idolatry. 


that  by  the  keys  of  binding  and  loosing 
given  to  his  holiness  by  my  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  he  hath  power  to  depose 
heretical  kings,  princes,  states,  common- 
wealths, and  governments,  all  being  ille- 
gal without  his  sacred  confirmation,  and 
that  they  may  safely  be  destroyed : 
therefore  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  I 
shall  and  will  defend  this  doctrine,  and 
his  holiness's  rights  and  customs,  against 
all  usurpers  of  the  heretical  or  Pro- 
testant authority  whatsoever:  especially 
against  the  now  pretended  authority  and 
church  of  England,  and  all  adherents, 
in  regard  that  they  and  she  be  usurpal, 
and  heretical,  opposing  the  sacred  mo- 
ther-church of  Rome.  I  do  renounce 
and  disown  any  allegiance  as  due  to 
any  heretical  king,  prince,  or  state, 
named  Protestants,  or  obedience  to  any 
of  their  inferior  magistrates  or  officers. 
I  do  further  declare  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  of  England,  of  the  Calvin- 
ists,  Huguenots,  and  of  others  of  the 
name  of  Protestants,  to  be  damnable, 
and  they  themselves  are  damned,  and 
to  be  damned,  that  will  not  forsake  the 
same.  I  do  further  declare,  that  I  will 
help,  assist,  and  advise,  all  or  any  of  his 
holiness's  agents  in  any  place,  wherever 
I  shall  be,  in  England,  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  or  in  any  other  territory  or 
kingdom  I  shall  come  to;  and  do  my 
utmost  to  extirpate  the  heretical  Protest- 
ants' doctrine,  and  to  destroy  all  their 
pretended  powers,  spiritual  or  otherwise. 
I  do  further  promise  and  declare,  that 
notwithstanding  I  am  dispensed  with  to 
assume  -any  religion  heretical  for  the 
propagation  of  the  mother-church's  in- 
terests, to  keep  secret  and  private  all 
her  agents'  counsels  from  time  to  time, 
as  they  entrust  me,  and  not  to  divulge 
directly  or  indirectly,  by  word,  writing 
or  circumstance  whatsoever  ;  but  to  exe- 
cute all  what  shall  be  proposed,  given 
in  charge,  or  discovered  unto  me,  by 
you,  my  ghostly  father,  or  by  any  of 
this  sacred  convent.  All  which,  I,  A.  B., 
do  swear  by  the  blessed  Trinity,  and 
blessed  sacrament,  which  I  now  am  to 
receive,  to  perform,  and  on  my  part  to 
keep  inviolably.  And  do  call  all  the 
heavenly  and  glorious  host  of  heaven  to 


LECTURE  XXII. 


195 


witness  these  my  real  intentions,  and  to 
keep  this  my  oath.  In  testimony  hereof, 
I  take  this  most  holy  and  blessed  sacra- 
ment of  the  eucharist ;  and  witness  the 
same  further  with  my  hand  and  seal  in 
the  face  of  this  holy  convent."  (Illus. 
of  Popery,  186.) 

Substantially  the  same  is  the  bishop's 
oath,  as  ordained  by  Pope  Clement  VIII. 
We  quote  a  few  of  its  expressions : — 
"I  will  be  faithful  and  obedient  to 
St.  Peter,  the  apostle,  and  to  the  holy 
Roman  Church,  and  to  our  lord,  the 
lord  N.,  Pope  N.,  and  to  his  successors, 
canonically  coming  in." — "  Heretics, 
schismatics,  and  rebels  to  our  lord,  or 
his  foresaid  successors,  I  will  to  my 
power  persecute  and  oppose."  (See  Bar- 
row, Pope's  Supremacy,  42.) 

Here,  then,  we  have 

First.  A  claim  put  in  upon  oath,  that 
the  Pope,  a  temporal  prince  at  Rome,  is 
the  head  and  absolute  lord  of  the  whole 
American  churches,  and  we  owe  him 
allegiance. 

Secondly.  That  this  foreign  potentate 
has  power  to  depose  heretical,  that  is, 
Protestant,  kings,  princes,  states,  com- 
monwealths, and  governments.  Our 
commonwealth  may  be  put  under  a 
curse  by  a  foreign  despot. 

Third.  The  reason  is  given, — all 
states,  commonwealths,  and  govern- 
ments are  illegal  without  his  sacred  con- 
firmation, and  may  therefore  he  safely 
destroyed. 

Fourth.  Every  Jesuit  renounces  alle- 
giance to  every  state,  government  and 
magistrate,  whom  the  Pope  has  not 
sacredly  confirmed.  His  words  are,  "  I 
do  renounce  and  disown  any  allegiance 
as  due  to  any  heretical  king,  prince,  or 
state  named  Protestants,  or  obedience  to 
any  of  their  inferior  magistrates  or 
officers."  And  moreover,  that  he  ivill 
do  his  utmost  to  "  destroy  all  their  pre- 
tended powers,  regal  or  otherwise."  He 
is  not  to  rest  at  mere  dead  opposition  to 
our  government,  but  he  has  sworn  to  de- 
stroy it.  Thus  the  Jesuit,  before  he 
comes  to  our  country,  takes  an  oath  that 
he  never  will  owe  our  government  any 
fealty.  He  never  can  become  a  citizen 
consequently,  but  by  swearing  in  direct 


opposition  to  this  oath.  Every  foreigner, 
in  becoming  a  citizen,  swears  that  he 
renounces  all  allegiance  to  any  and 
every  foreign  prince,  king,  or  potentate 
whatever.  But  this  oath  he  takes  "  be- 
ing dispensed  with,"  he  swears  falsely, 
and  becomes  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  Yea,  more  ;  he  renounces  the 
Catholic  religion,  turns  Protestant,  and 
takes  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  a  Pro- 
testant government  and  a  Protestant 
church,  he  remaining  a  Catholic  still, 
that  by  this  deception  and  falsehood,  he 
may  promote  Popish  interests.  In  the 
eyes  of  his  chur*ch  and  brotherhood,  all 
this  duplicity  is  perfectly  right,  and  he 
receives  for  it  the  Pope's  blessing. 

Fifth.  Notwithstanding  this,  every  Je- 
suit is  bound  by  his  oath  to  "  defend  the 
doctrine,"  that  the  Pope  has  power  to 
depose  princes,  states,  and  governments  j 
that  they  are  not  legal  without  his  sacred 
confirmation,  and  "may  safely  be  de- 
stroyed." This  the  Jesuit's  oath  binds 
him  "  to  the  utmost  of  his  power"  to  de- 
fend. Loyola's  first  proposition  to  the 
Pope  and  his  council  did  not  contain  the 
pledge  of  unconditional  submission  to  his 
holiness,  and  it  was  rejected.  But  some 
time  afterward,  he  altered  it,  so  as  to 
bind  every  member  of  the  body  to  un- 
qualified submission  to  his  superior,  and 
the  general  of  the  order  to  the  Pope.  So 
that  there  is  an  absolute  and  unlimited 
subordination  of  every  man's  conscience 
to  the  ghostly  central  despot. 

Sixth.  Every  Roman  Catholic  bishop 
is  bound  by  his  episcopal  oath  to  be 
obedient  (obediens  ero)  to  his  lord,  the 
Pope,  and  to  persecute  and  oppose,  to 
the  utmost  of  his  power,  all  Protestants. 
But  in  this  country  his  power  is  bounded 
by  a  stronger;  otherwise  we  should  have 
in  every  large  town  the  holy  office  of  the 
Inquisition  ;  which,  Bishop  Hughes  says, 
may  have  been  a  good  thing  abused. 

As  might  be  expected  from  their  pro- 
fessed and  sworn  purpose,  the  Jesuits 
became  very  soon  the  master  politicians 
of  the  day.  They  passed  into  all  coun- 
tries, and  in  all  countries  grasped  at 
power.  To  an  amazing  degree  they 
succeeded  in  throwing  their  toils  around 
all  the  courts  in  Europe  ;  and,  by  their 


196 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


secret  co-operation,  could  manage  to 
make  war  or  peace,  just  as  might  suit 
the  policy  of  Rome.  For  two  hundred 
years  they  were  ostensibly  or  really  the 
master  diplomatists  of  the  world,  and 
had  also  arrogated  to  themselves  almost 
the  whole  business  of  education.  Under 
their  vow  of  perpetual  poverty,  they 
amassed  half  the  wealth  of  most  Catho- 
lic countries,  and  were  decidedly  the 
richest  body  of  men  ever  associated  to- 
gether in  Europe.  To  this,  Bishop 
Hughes's  "  good  thing  abused"  greatly 

contributed.      Overgrown  wealth    fitted 

.  .  .  • 
men    for    the    Inquisition,    unless    they 

parted  with  it  freely  to  the  society.  When 
once  suspicion  of  heresy  fastened  upon  a 
rich  man,  and  he  sunk  into  the  dun- 
geons of'the  Inquisition,  his  eyes  rarely 
saw  the  light  of  the  sun  afterwards.  His 
property  was  confiscated  to  the  church 
or  society.  The  history  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion gives*  the  best  and  most  correct  idea 
of  the  place  of  torment  that  could  be  col- 
lected from  earth.  There  surely  never 
has  been  so  full  and  perfect  an  incarna- 
tion of  the  devil  exhibited  in  our  world, 
as  was  to  be  found  presiding  in  its  prin- 
cipal courts. 

But  a  gracious  God  at  length  heard 
the  groans  and  clanking  chains  from  the 
deep  recesses  of  these  Jesuitical  hells, 
and  blasted  the,  counsels  of  these  incar- 
nate fiends.  They  were  permitted  to 
overact,  and  in  a  degree  to  forget  their. 
fealty,  and  the  principles  by  which  they 
had  so  long  prospered.'  Their  intempe- 
rances in  civil  things,  and  their  ineffi- 
ciency, brought  them  into  disrepute. 
They  were  forbidden  privileges  in  vari- 
ous kingdoms  of  Europe,  and  finally  the 
order  was  suppressed  by  Pope  Clement 
XIV.,  in 'A.  D.  1773,  by  the  withdrawal 
of  their  charter.  The  depression  of  the 
papal  cause  in  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
and  elsewhere,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  caused  the  Vatican 
to  devise  some  means  of  reviving  their 
cause;  and  they  determined  to  revive 
the  Society  of  the  Jesuits.  This  was 
done  by  Pope  Pius  VII.,  in  A.  D.,  1814. 
This  society  has  its  agents  and  its 
organized  bodies  all  over  our  country. 
Those  who  compose  it  are  nearly  all 


foreigners,  brought  up  under  despotic 
governments,  and  sworn  subjects  of  the 
master  tyrant.  They  are  all,  and  must 
all  be  unmarried  men,  who  can  never  be 
bound  by  ties  of  direct  descent  to  our 
soil  and  institutions.  They  cannot  (at 
least  legitimately)  leave  a  drop  of  their 
blood  running  in  human  veins,  to  attach 
them  to  our  land  of  freedom.  Yet  they 
pervade  all  our  seats.,  of  government : 
especially  are  they  keenly  vigilant  at  our 
national  capital.  They  study  charac- 
ter ;  they  scrutinize  men ;  they  weigh 
political  principles  and  parties'.  No  pub- 
lic person  of  any  note,  ki  church  or  state, 
is  unwritten  in  their  books.  Their  com- 
munication with  their  general  at  Rome 
and  the  Vatican  is  constant.  The  Pope's 
council  of  cardinals  understand  our  pub- 
lic men  better  than  most  of  their  o\vn 
fellow-citizens  do.  Our  questions  of 
policy  are-  all  canvassed  there,  and 
schemes  are  there  planned  which  go 
down  into  till  our  elections  and  affect  all 
our  religious  bodies. 

How  all  this  exists  it  is  not  difficult  to- 
perceive. .  The  priest,  by  the  confession- 
al, can  command  the  votes  of  all  his 
people.  He  will  not,  however,  concen- 
trate his  ten  thousand  upon  any  one 
candidate,  except  it  be  on  some  great 
occasions;  such  as  the  recent  case  of  the 
school  law  in  New  York. 

On  ordinary  occasions,- however,  their, 
policy'  is  to  place  their* people  upon  dif- 
ferent sides,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  entire  absence  of  all  con- 
cert and  combination.  But  when  they 
deem  it  necessary,  the  Jesuits  and  other 
priests  can  poll  every  Catholic  vote  ;  and 
they  and  their  followersare  bound  by  oath 
to  do  so. 

Seventh.  The  nature' of  our  govern- 
ment seems  to  invite  to  such  union.  In 
a  close  canvass,  a  small  body,  acting 
together  and  in  moving  mass,  hold  the 
balance  of  power.  This  is  evidently  the 
means  by  which  the  Catholics  succeeded 
in  recently  carrying  their  point.  Both 
political  parties  have  long  courted  them, 
for  the  very  reason  of  their  ability  to 
move  in  concert.  Both  parties  are  afraid 
of  the  Catholic  priests  and  especially  of 
the  bishops. 


LECTURE  XXII. 


197 


Another  of  our  peculiarities  makes  us 
vulnerable,  that  is,  the  entire  severance 
of  the  church  from  the  state :  from 
which,  by  a  slight  perversion,  has  sprung 
up  one  of  the  most  ruinous  maxims  by 
which  the  public  understanding  is  led 
astray  : — that  religion  and  politics  have 
nothing  to  do  with  each  other.  It  is 
trUe,  our  government  has  and  ought  to 
hay^f  no  control  over  religion.  But  it  is 
not 'true  that  religious  principle  should 
exert  no  influence  over  political  men, 
— that  the  citizen  should  not  hold  him- 
self accountable  to  God  for  the  exercise 
of  his  political  rights, — that  civil  officers 
are  under  no  religious  obligations. 

But  mark  now  the  practical  use  to 
which  this  maxim,  in  its  bad  sense,  is 
put.  If  the  nation  from  the  pulpit  is 
warned  to  beware  of  Jesuitical  influ- 
ence, which  it  can  be  demonstrated,  is 
undermining  the  purity  of  elections  and 
the  foundations  of  the  republic,  the  ob- 
jection is  raised,  that  this  is  preaching 
politics.  If  his  Satanic  majesty  assume 
the  cowl  and  hood,  and  exhibit  the  ton- 
sure, and  become  preacher,  the  public 
press  must  henceforth  be  muzzled,  for 
politics  must  not  interfere  with  religion. 
If  we  tell  our  public  servants  that  a 
Jesuit  cannot  become  a  citizen  by  swear- 
ing allegiance  to  our  government,  be- 
cause his  prior  oath  renders  it  impossi- 
ble;  their  reply  is,,  that  religion  has 
nothing  to  do  with  politics.  If  we  prove 
that,  whenever  Roman  Catholics  have 
the  power,  their  principles  bind  them  lo 
persecute;  and  that  historically  this  is 
recorded  fact  ;  they  tell  us,  that  in  this 
country,  we  are  in  no  danger  from 
Popery. 

Eighth.  The  impossibility  of  awaking 
Americans  to  the  conviction  that  there 
is  any  danger,  we  name  as  the  last  and 
not  the  least  influential  consideration,  in 
producing  the  belief,  that  the  despotism 
of  Europe  armed  with  bigotry  and 
guarded  by  Jesuitism  will  pour  its  legions 
upon  our  shores.  Demonstration  after 
demonstration, — the  most  cogent  and 
unanswerable  arguments  of  all  kinds, 
have  issued  from  the  Protestant  press 
and  pulpit;  but  all  to  little  purpose. 
To  these  arguments  there  is  no  refuta- 


tion offered.  They  are  simply  passed 
by.  Our  statesmen  are  afraid  to  touch 
them  ;  probably  from  two  reasons  :  they 
are  ignorant  upon  the  subject  of  Popery; 
and  they  wish  not  to  be  informed,  lest 
their  judgments  should  be  convinced, 
that  there  is  danger,  and  they  would  be 
constrained  to  say  and  do  what  might 
offend  the  Jesuits,  and  defeat  their  poli- 
tical prospects. 

Take  now  into  consideration  all  these 
circumstances.  Think  of  the  numbers 
already  in  our  country  under  fealty  to 
the  despotism  of  Rome :  their  rapid  in- 
crease ;  the  sources  of  that  increase, — 
their  schools  for  Protestant  children ; 
but  especially  emigration  from  countries 
crowded  to  distress.  Look  at  the  great 
facilities  and  inducements  to  emigrate. 
Consider  the  efforts  of  the  Leopold 
Foundation,  chartered  by  the  Pope  and 
patronised  by  Prince  Metternich,  his 
master,  and  all  the  Catholic  aristocracy 
of  Europe.  Look  at  the  vast  sums  they 
are  expending  in  cathedrals,  chapels, 
colleges,  in  our  country :  at  the  strong  in- 
ducements our  national  legislation  holds 
out  to  them  to  emigrate,  and  the  conse- 
quent rapidly  increasing  numbers.  Con- 
sider the  swelling  legions  of  foreign  Je- 
suits, all  sworn  to  support  their  foreign 
master,  and  to  use  their  utmost  power 
to  destroy  our  heretical  government ; 
men  who  with  the  other  priests  have  the 
consciences  of  their  people  completely 
under  their  control.  Think  of  the  per- 
fect facility  with  which  they  can  turn 
the  fate  at  an  election,  where  there  is  a 
close  vote.  Observe  the  notorious  cha- 
racter of  the  Jesuits  for  intermeddling 
in  politics,  which  disposition  and  talent 
our  free  institutions  invite  them  to  in- 
dulge and  exercise.  Mark  the  perfect 
indifference  of  the  great  body  of  our 
people,  and  especially  the  unwillingness 
of  our  political  men  to  look  into  this 
subject ;  and  we  may  add,  consider  our 
contiguity  to  Canada,  Mexico,  and  the 
heavy  black  Catholic  population  in  the 
West  Indies,  capable  of  being  turned  in 
upon  our  southern  country,  with  tre- 
mendous effect,  as  invading  foes.  Take 
all  these  circumstances  into  considera- 
tion, and  then  say  whether  it  be  not  ex- 


193 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


tremely  probable,  that  the  victorious 
armies  of  the  grand  Papal  alliance,  hav- 
ing suppressed  Protestantism  and  liberty 
in  Europe,  will  make  a  desperate  assault 
upon  us.  With  such  facilities  and  in- 
ducements as  these,  is  it  conceivable  that 
they  will  not  turn  upon  us  as  their  only 
remaining  foes,  and  their  last  prey  1  To 
us,  the  probability  appears  so  great,  that 
we  will  direct  all  possible  efforts  toward 
preparation  for  such  a  result ;  shall  not 
cease  to  blow  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  and 
to  sound  the  alarm  in  God's  holy  moun- 
tain. 

It  may  be  asked  what  the  result  will 
be.  As  we  are  suggesting  probabilities, 
in  reference  to  the  future,  what  probably 
will  be  the  issue  of  the  fearful  conflict 
which  is  anticipated  1  Does  "the  sure 
word  of  prophecy"  throw  any  light  upon 
the  subject?  We  answer,  that  it  does. 
This  much  in  general  is  certain  ;  Anti- 
christ shall  certainly  be  slain  and  his 
body  be  given  to  the  burning  flame. 
Protestantism,  or  the  true  religion,  will 
most  assuredly  revive.  Its  defenders, 
after  three  and  a  half  years  of  prostra- 
tion, will  arise  and  stand  upon  their 
feet :  the  religion  of  the  witnesses  will 
become  triumphant,  and  walk  forth  in 
the  broad  way,  unmolested  and  honoured 
in  the  highest  degree  :  and  the  interests 
of  the  opposing  power  will  be  crushed. 

Thus  far,  in  general,  we  see  the  steady 
shining  of  prophetic  light.  But  when 
we  descend  to  particulars,  it  becomes  us 
to  speak  with  reserve  and  to  suggest 
probabilities. 

1.  It  is  probable,  that  the  combined 
forces  of  aristocratic  Europe,  in  their 
effort  to  establish  rule  in  this  land,  by 
establishing  the  Catholic  religion,  will 
be  foiled.  The  exotic  will  grow  in  our 
soil,  only  in  a  forced  and  sickly  manner. 
Its  nourishment  must  be  brought  from 
Austria,  Italy,  or  some  sister  country. 
It  must  be  bedewed  with  holy  water 
from  the  font  at  Rome,  and  the  heat 
which  nurtures  it  must  be  the  fires  of 
the  auto-da-fe:  and  notwithstanding  all, 
the  plant  will  sicken  and  die.  Nay, 
rather  it  will  be  hewn  down  by  the  two- 
edged  sword  of  a  free  press  and  a  free 
pulpit.     We  shall  have  a  struggle,  short 


and  transient ;  but  fierce  and  most  de- 
structive to  our  invaders.  The  approach 
of  it  will  unite  all  sects  of  religion  and 
all  parties  in  politics,  and  these  States 
United,  and  fighting  in  defence  of  the 
religion  of  the  Son  of  God  and  the  liberty 
wherewith  He  has  made  us  free,  can 
never  be  conquered.  Back  from  our 
shores  they  will  be  hurled  with  a  tre- 
mendous overthrow.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
believed  that  we  will  not  follow  them. 
Is  it  probable,  that  having  been  forced 
by  them  to  depart  from  our  wonted  po- 
licy, to  enter  into  alliances  with  the 
whole  Protestant  world,  for  the  common 
defence,  we  will  draw  off"  as  soon  as 
they  shall  have  retired  with  the  shatter- 
ed remains  of  their  invincible  armada  ? 
If  not,  then  and  by  that  time,  the 
grand  Protestant  alliance,  at  the  head  of 
which  will  stand  in  unassuming  dignity, 
the  Republic,  will  have  matured  their 
plans,  and  concentrated  their  forces, 
which  will  pour  in  from  the  North  and 
the  East,  but  chiefly  from  the  West,  to 
intercept  and  pursue  the  retreating  fleet 
of  the  enemy.  Those  parts  of  the  British 
navy,  which  shall  have  remained  faith- 
ful, and  shall  have  taken  refuge  in  the 
East,  and  in  our  seas  and  harbours,  the 
American  navy,  and  a  thousand  priva- 
teers, will  hang  upon  their  rear.  Mean- 
while, the  Irish,  Scottish,  and  English 
Protestants  will  be  active,  though  secret- 
ly, and  the  moment  in  which  the  com- 
bined fleet  strikes  the  British  strand,  they 
will  spring  to  their  feet,  and  hail  their  de- 
liverers. 

2.  Then  will  follow  the  concussion  ; 
the  court  and  leader  of  the  Catholic  aris- 
tocracy, will  be  foi'ced  to  fly  to  the  con- 
tinent, and  leave  England  in  possession 
of  the  friends  of  the  witnesses.  Thus 
will  fall  the  tenth  part  of  the  city,  as 
above  described. 

3.  It  is  probable,  that  there  will  be 
organized  in  the  British  isles,  a  govern- 
ment much  nearer  the  true  principles  of 
equal  rights,  than  they  have  hitherto 
known.  The  hereditary  nobility,  the 
mitred  and  mammon  aristocracy,  and 
the  national  debt,  will  all  perish  together. 
This  terrible  earthquake,  will  leave  not 
a  wreck  behind. 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


199 


4.  It  is  probable,  that  henceforth  the 
ocean  will  be  all  and  for  ever  Protestant, 
and  the  English  language,  be  its  mother 
tongue.  This  perfect  supremacy  of  the 
sea,  will  give  the  recently  revived  wit- 
nesses full  leisure  to  perfect  their  plans 
of  government,  and  enable  the  dynasty 
of  the  people,  to  acquire  by  experience 
and  practice,  facility  in  the  management 
of  public  affairs. 

In  view  of  such  probabilities,  or  if  they 
are  barely  possibilities,  what  ought  to  be 
our  course  of  policy  1 

First.  We  should  cherish  the  pure 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion. 
These  will  be  pre-eminently  the  battles 
of  the  Lord  :  and  he  is  manifestly  pre- 
paring American  seamen  to  fight  them. 
The  victory  in  that  day,  will  no.t  be  to 
the  strong,  physically,  nor  to  the  multi- 
tude :  but  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  fight 
for  us. 

Second.  We  must  keep  a  vigilant  eye 
upon  Popery  within  our  precincts.  And, 
in  regard  to  it,  let  us  always  distinguish 
between  Popery  and  the  people  deluded 
by  it.  We  should  treat  the  people  with 
kindness,  and  endeavour  to  enlighten 
them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel, 
and  so  break  the  yoke  from  off  their 
neck.  But  the  priests  and  nuns  and 
their  horrible  impurities,  particularly 
the  Jesuits,  we  should  watch  narrowly. 
These  are  Popery.  By  that  day,  this 
party  may  have  put  in  a  President,  some 
more  of  our  national  judges  and  con- 
gressmen, and  in  our  legislatures,  may 
baffle  strong  majorities  exceedingly,  even 
in  a  constitutional  way,  and  by  delay, 
do  much  to  aid  the  enemy. 

Third.  We  should  attend  well  to  our 
national  defences.  The  true  God  is  our 
defence,  but  he  makes  use  of  means. 
Let  us  look  well  to  our  wooden  walls, — 
rather  let  us  make  floating  walls  of  iron, 
and  use  all  due  diligence  for  our  own 
safety,  that  we  may  not  have  occasion 
to  reproach  ourselves  for  having  neglect- 
ed a  leading  duty  of  the  law  of  nature ; 
and  disqualified  ourselves  for  the  high 
and  honourable  service  to  which  our  God 
may  call  us. 


LECTURE  XXIII. 

THE  SEVENTH  TRUMPET. 

Rev.  xi.  14-19. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Saracenic  in- 
vasion progressed  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  or  five  prophetic  months. 
That  is,  from  the  first  public  preaching 
of  Mohammed,  in  612  to  762,  when  the 
Caliph  Almansor  built  Bagdad,  and 
ceased  his  conquests.  We  have  also 
seen,  that  the  hour  and  day  and  month 
and  year,  during  which  the  Turkish 
horsemen  were  to  advance  in  their  work 
of  desolation,  commenced  with  the  cap- 
ture of  Cutahi,  by  Othman,  in  1281  ; 
and  terminated  at  the  end  of  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  years  and  fifteen 
days,  by  the  capture  of  Kameniec  in  Po- 
dolia,  in  1672.  Between  the  close  of  the 
first  woe  then,  and  the  opening  of  the 
second,  there  intervened  a  space  of  five 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years.  But  we 
are  told,  that  after  the  close  of  the  second 
woe,  "  the  third  cometh  quickly."  We 
are  therefore  to  expect  the  events  com- 
prehended under  this  third  woe  trumpet, 
to  commence  within  a  period  much 
shorter  than  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  years  after  the  capture  of  Kameniec 
in  1672. 

But  we  must  bear  in  mind,  that  the 
period  of  time  embraced  in  the  seventh 
trumpet,  is  the  last  subdivision 'of  the 
sealed  book  ;  it  runs  forward  to  the  end, 
and  is  itself  subdivided  into  the  seven 
vials.  Consequently,  it  must  cover  a 
very  considerable  portion  of  time,  and 
comprehend  a  very  great  number  of 
events. 

These  events,  moreover,  may  be  very 
different  in  their  character  and  bearings. 
What  is  a  heavy  woe,  a  matter  of  deep 
distress  to  one  class  of  men,  may  be 
matter  of  high  joy  to  another.  All  the 
three  woes  are  such  "  to  the  inhabiters 
of  the  earth,"  (ch.  viii.  13,)  that  is,  to 
the  citizens  of  the  empire,  who  retain 
the  corrupt  system ;  whilst,  to  a  great 
extent,  they  are  means  of  relief  and 
blessing,  and  consequently,  cause  of  joy, 
to  the  true  church  of  God,  comprehend- 


200 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ed  within  the  degenerate  church  and  em- 
pire. Accordingly,  we  find  the  language 
of  exultation  and  triumph  in  this  context, 
not  as  limited  to  the  beginning,  middle, 
or  end  of  the  period,  but  as  descriptive 
in  general  of  the  whole.  Though  still 
depressed,  the  true  church  has  yet  fre- 
quent cause  of  exultation. 

Verse  15.  "And  the  seventh  angel 
sounded :  and  there  were  great  voices  in 
heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world,  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall 
reign  for  ever  and  ever."  This  language 
has  reference,  obviously,  to  the  period 
chiefly  at  its  close,  when  all  the  thrones 
of  tyranny  shall  be  overturned,  and  the 
governments  of  the  nations  shall  be  re- 
organized, according  to  the  representa- 
tive democracy  of  the  Bible,  upon  the 
pure  foundation  of  Christian  morality. 

Verses  16-18.  "And  the  four  and 
twenty  elders,  which  sat  before  God  on 
their  seats,  fell  upon  their  faces  and 
worshipped  God  ;  saying,  We  give  thee 
thanks,  O  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
art  and  wast  and  art  to  come ;  because 
thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great  power, 
and  hast  reigned.  And  the  nations  were 
angry,  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the 
time  of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be 
judged,  and  that  thou  shouldst  give  re- 
ward unto  thy  servants  the  prophets, 
and  to  the  saints,  and  them  that  fear  thy 
name,  small  and  great :  and  shouldst  de- 
stroy them  which  destroy  the  earth." 

These  elders  or  presbyters,  are  the 
representatives  of  the  churches.  Their 
ruling  authority,  which  is  designated  by 
the  language,  "  sat  before  God  on  their 
seats  or  thrones,"  is  received  from  God 
the  Redeemer,  and  is  exercised  under 
him  for  the  people's  good.  Their  action 
here,  bespeaks  the  existence  of  a  church 
worshipping  God,  and  yet  not  by  inter- 
mediate objects,  but  directly.  They 
glance  their  eye  forward  to  the  triumph 
of  the  true  religion,  the  wrath  and  over- 
throw of  the  nations,  and  the  vindication 
of  the  martyred  saints. 

Verse  19.  "And  the  temple  of  God 
was  opened  in  heaven,  and  there  was 
in  the  temple  the  ark  of  his  testament : 
and  there  were  lightnings,  and  voices, 


and  thunderings,  and  an  earthquake, 
and  great  hail." 

This  indicates  freedom  of  access  to 
a  pure  and  spiritual  worship  ;  the  temple 
being  the  symbol  of  the  true  church, 
which  had  been  shut  up  by  the  corrup- 
tion and  tyranny  of  Rome ;  but  is  now 
opened  by  the  Protestant  Reformation. 
The  ark  of  the  covenant,  therefore, 
which  is  the  great  standing  type  of  jus- 
tification  by  faith,  is  drawn  forth  to 
public  view.  The  reference  here  is  to 
the  preaching  of  the  Reformers,  whose 
leading  star  was  this  very  doctrine  of 
justification  by  Christ's  righteousness 
imputed. 

The  lightnings  and  their  accompani- 
ments represent  great  commotions  among 
the  nations. 

The  war  of  the  great  red  dragon,  to 
which  we  must  now  proceed,  exhibits 
the  same  parties  as  were  presented  in 
the  little  book.  It  is  another  represen- 
tation of  the  conflict  between  Satan  and 
the  true  church  of  God.  The  principal 
part  has  reference  to- the  period  of  the 
vials.  But  preparatory  to  that,  we  are 
carried  back  to  earlier  periods. 

Chap.  xii.  1,2.  "  And  there  appeared 
a  great  wonder  in  heaven  ;  a  woman 
clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the  moon  un- 
der her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a  crown 
of  twelve  stars :  and  she  being  with 
child,  cried,  travailing  in  birth,  and 
pained  to  be  delivered." 

The  word  translated  wonder,  is  tfyi^sibv, 
a  sign.  Now  a  sign  is  significant  of 
something.  The  woman  here  signifies 
the  true  spiritual  church,  the  Zion  of 
God,  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife.  This 
true  church  is  embraced,  comprehended, 
as  it  were,  within  the  larger  body  of  the 
apostate  church,  though  not  owning  its 
union.  Nations,  bodies  of  men,  societies, 
are  often  symbolized  by  a  woman. 

"High  on  a  rock,  in  solitary  state, 
Sublimely  musing,  pale  Britannia  sate; 
Her  awful  forehead  on  her  spear  reclined, 
Her  robe  and  tresses  streaming  with  the  wind." 

In  a  similar  manner  the  true  church--is 
often  spoken  of  as  the  virgin  daughter 
of  Zion,  the  mother  of  us  all. 

This    symbolical    woman    is   clothed 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


201 


with  the  sun, — arrayed  in  light  and 
beauty;  the  brightness  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  enshrouds  her  round 
about.  The  true  church  rejoices  in  the 
light  of  Zion's  King.  Yea,  the  very 
pavement  beneath  her  feet  reflects,  like 
the  moon,  the  brightness  of  that  light  in 
which  she  is  clad.  "  The  street  of  the 
city  is  pure  gold,  as  it  were  transparent 
glass  ;"  "  and  I  saw,  as  it  were  a  sea  of 
glass  mingled  with  fire, — and  the  saints 
stand  on  the  sea  of  glass."  So  the 
bright  moon  is  the  pavement  on  which 
she  stands.  It  may  represent  the  laws, 
government,  institutions  of  the  church, 
which  are  but  reflections  of  truth  from 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

The  stars,  whose  figurative  meaning 
has  already  been  explained,  have  here 
manifest  allusion  in  their  number  to  the 
twelve  apostles.  This  teaches,  that  the 
pure  ministry  is  a  crown  of  glory  to  the 
church :  and  that  in  the  period  referred 
to  there  will  be  a  renewed  issuing  forth 
of  the  twelve  preachers  of  the  gospel. 
This  gives  promise  of  increase ;  ac- 
cordingly, "  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed 
she  brought  forth,"  and  doubtless  the 
allusion  is  to  the  advance  of  the  church 
in  the  age  of  the  Reformation. 

Verses  3-6.  "And  there  appeared 
another  wonder  (sign)  in  heaven  ;  and 
behold,  a  great  red  dragon,  having  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,  and  seven  crowns 
upon  his  heads.  And  his  tail  drew  the 
third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and 
cast  them  to  the  earth  :  and  the  dragon 
stood  before  the  woman  which  was  ready 
to  be  delivered,  to  devour  her  child  as 
soon  as  it  was  born.  And  she  brought 
forth  a  man  child,  who  was  to  rule  all 
nations  with  a  rod  of  iron  :  and  her 
child  was  caught  up  unto  God  and  to 
his  throne.  And  the  woman  fled  into 
the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place 
prepared  of  God,  that  they  should  feed 
her  there  a  thousand  two  hundred  and 
three  score  days." 

A  great  red  dragon  is  the  second 
significant  thing.  Naturalists  now  are 
acquainted  with  but  one  species  of  the 
dragon,  and  it  is  perfectly  harmless.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  there  were  an- 
cientlv  fiery  flying  serpents  of  a  venom- 

26 


ous  and  destructive  kind.  And  it  is  not 
at  all  improbable  that  there  were  large 
and  dangerous  animals  of  this  amphi- 
bious character,  of  which  the  species  is 
now  extinct.  They  were  midway  be- 
tween the  reptile  or  serpent,  and  the 
quadruped  :  and  most  likely  also  am- 
phibious ;  for  dragons  inhabited  water. 
(Ps.  lxxiv.  13.)  "Thou  brakest  the  heads 
of  the  dragons  in  the  waters."  It  is 
also  certain,  that  there  were  "  dragons 
of  the  wilderness."  (Mai.  i.  3.)  The 
poets  perhaps  made  them  more  savage 
and  terrible  than  nature  presented  them. 
The  race  is  now  probably  extinct,  as 
other  poisonous  reptiles  pass  away  be- 
fore the  face  of  man.  The  significant 
thing  here,  is  evidently  designed  a  mon- 
ster. Nothing  ever  existed  in  nature 
like  him,  as  a  whole :  and  this  poetic 
fiction  is  necessary,  because  it  is  a 
moral  monster  he  is  intended  to  sym- 
bolize. 

This  dragon  has  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns.  The  former  represent  the  seven 
hills  on  which  Rome  is  built ;  the  latter 
the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  the  empire 
was  divided.  He  had  also  seven  crowns' 
upon  his  heads ;  which  denote  the  seven 
forms  of  Roman  government,  of  which 
we  shall  speak  hereafter. 

The  third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven, 
are  the  ministers  of  the  visible  church  : 
and  the  dragon's  tail  drawing,  or  drag- 
ging them,  and  casting  them  down  to 
the  earth,  is  the  corrupting  influence 
combined  with  the  violence  which  was 
exercised  to  degrade  the  clergy ;  and 
which  succeeded  in  converting  the  mass 
of  them  into  mere  time-serving  politi- 
cians. Of  course  the  tail  of  the  dragon, 
like  that  of  the  Saracenic  locusts  and 
the  Turkish  horsemen,  designates  the 
debasing  doctrine  he  every  where  dis- 
seminated. A  false  religion  emanated 
from  him,  and  perverted  the  church  by 
corrupting  the  ministry  first. 

Having  thus  overcome  the  great  body 
of  the  clergy,  and  brought  them  into 
subserviency  to  his  views,  the  dragon 
takes  his  position  before  the  woman  ;  in 
other  words,  the  power  symbolized 
makes  arrangements  for  watching  the 
increase  of  the  church,  with  a  view  of 


202 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


destroying  that  increase,  and  so  of  sup- 
pressing all  true  spiritual  worship. 

Here,  with  some  hesitancy,  we  part 
from  the  critics  and  commentators  gene- 
rally. The  fifth  verse  is  mostly  applied 
to  the  birth  of  Christ  and  his  ascension 
to  the  divine  throne.  This  had  been  our 
opinion  too,  but  we  have  been  con- 
strained to  apply  the  whole  to  Christ 
mystically, — that  is,  to  the  converts, 
those  born  into  the  spiritual  kingdom. 
The  reasons  are  these. 

Its  application  to  the  Saviour  per- 
sonally violates  the  chronology.  The 
matter  of  the  third  woe  must  be  subse- 
quent to  the  termination  of  the  second 
in  1672,  that  number  of  years  after  the 
birth  of  Christ  literally;  and  to  refer  it 
to  that  event  seems  improper. 

Again ;  this  application  is  literal, 
whereas  the  whole  prophecy  here  is 
symbolical.  The  woman  is  to  be  taken 
figuratively  for  the  true  church,  and  her 
progeny  ought  to  be  understood  in  the 
same  sense,  for  the  body  of  professed 
Christians  born. 

The  birth  of  the  male  child  seems 
also  to  be  subsequent  to  the  degeneracy 
of  the  clergy,  as  designated  by  the  dra- 
gon drawing  them  with  his  tail;  but,  if 
Christ  personally  be  meant,  it  must  be 
long  prior  to  this  degeneracy. 

And  further  still, — the  woman  is  the 
true  church  as  contradistinguished  from 
the  larger  body  of  nominal  Christians 
in  the  ecclesiastical  heaven  :  but  this 
distinction  could  not  be  applied  thus, 
without  carrying  us  back  to  the  Jewish 
church,  within  which  Christ  was  born  ; 
and  thus  chronology  is  again  set  aside. 
Therefore  we  infer, 

1.  That  the  male  child  is  the  progeny 
of  the  true  church  during  the  period  of 
the  third  woe:  especially  is  there  refer- 
ence to  the  converts  during  the  earlier 
parts  of  the  Protestant  reformation. 
They  are  represented  by  a  male  child, 
because  of  their  characteristic  strength 
and  vigour,  adapted  to  their  work  and 
sufferings. 

2.  The  male  child  is  to  rule,  tfoifxaivsiv, 
to  act  the  part  of  a  shepherd  over  the 
nations,  with  a  rod  of  iron;  a  strong 
and  firm,  but  homely  sceptre.     It  does 


not  mean  with  a  severe  and  tyrannical 
sway.  The  language  is  taken  from 
Ps.  ii.  9,  where  of  Christ,  it  is  said,  he 
shall  rule  the  nations  with  a  rod, — a 
shepherd's  staff;  yet  made  of  unyield- 
ing materials.  The  sense  is  that,  the 
sons  of  Zion  at  this  period  shall,  by  the 
influence  and  force  of  the  pastoral  office, 
through  the  preaching  of  the  truth, 
operate  a  controlling  power  over  the 
nations.  And  this  accords  precisely 
with  the  historical  facts.  Protestant 
Christians  did  then,  and  they  will  much 
more  powerfully  hereafter  influence,  and 
thereby  govern  the  world,  through  the 
faithful  preaching  and  exposition  of  the 
truth  of  God. 

3.  This  male  child  is  caught  up,  or 
caught  away,  as  the  same  word  is  trans- 
lated properly  in  the  case  of  Philip, 
(Acts  viii.  38.)  God  often  interposed 
to  deliver  the  Protestant  reformers  from 
the  power  of  their  foes.  His  holy  arm 
was  frequently  made  bare  for  their 
rescue ;  and  they  were  separated  from 
the  mass  of  corruption,  and  organized 
formally  into  independent  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  apart  from  the  Catholic  body. 

4.  The  woman  flying  into  the  wilder- 
ness exhibits  the  desolate  state  of  the 
true  church.  It  is  the  same  as  the 
saints  prophesying  in  sackcloth  ;  and 
the  duration  is  the  same.  But  the  con- 
struction of  the  language  does  not  render 
it  necessary  to  understand  the  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  sixty  days,  as  all 
subsequent  to  the  birth  of  the  male  child. 
It  merely  expresses  the  idea,  that  her 
wilderness  or  desolate  condition  is  to 
endure  that  length  of  time. 

Thus  much  for  the  war  of  the  woman 
and  the  great  red  dragon,  until  the  inter- 
position of  Michael :  after  that,  it  is  the 
war  of  Michael  and  the  dragon.  Our 
first  inquiry,  is  in  respect  to  the  bellige- 
rents. Who  is  Michael  ?  Who  is  the 
great  red  dragon  1 

The  word  Michael  signifies,  who  is 
like  God.  It  is  an  epithet  of  our  Sa- 
viour, "  who  is  the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image 
of  his  person."  Daniel  accordingly,  de- 
scribing these  very  same  wars,  says, 
"at  that  time  shall  Michael   stand  up, 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


203 


the  great  prince  which  standeth  for  the 
children  of  thy  people,"  (xii.  1)  :  and 
he  had  mentioned  him  before  under  the 
same  name,  "But  lo!  Michael, one  of  the 
chief  princes  came  to  help  me," — "  and 
there  is  none  holdeth  with  me  in  these 
things  but  Michael  your  prince,"  (x.  13, 
21.)  Under  the  same  name,  Jude  men- 
tions our  Saviour,  "  Yet  Michael  the 
archangel,  when  contending  with  the 
devil — "  We  may  remark  here,  by  the 
way,  that  there  is  but  one  archangel 
known  to  the  Bible.  The  word  means, 
prince  or  chief  angel,  and  of  course, 
there  is  but  one  head  to  the  angels  of 
glory.  Poetry,  not  always  orthodox,  has 
indeed  created  many  ;  theology  knows 
but  one,  the  Lord  our  Redeemer. 

In  regard  to  the  great  red  dragon,  the 
prophet  leaves  us  no  difficulty.  Verse 
9,  "  The  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that 
old  serpent,  called  the  devil,  and  Satan, 
which  deceiveth  the  whole  world."  The 
devil  signifies,  literally,  the  deceiver,  the 
entrapper,  the  circumventer :  and  as  a 
proper  name,  the  prince  of  the  fallen 
angels.  Dr.  George  Campbell,  of  Aber- 
deen, has  shown  satisfactorily,  as  we 
think,  that  diabolus,  which  we  have  ab- 
breviated into  devil,  is  never  applied  in 
scripture  to  any  but  one  of  the  fallen 
angels.  It  occurs  only  twice  in  the  plu- 
ral in  the  New  Testament,  and  is  em- 
ployed both  times  in  reference  to  wicked 
men  and  women,  (2  Tim.  iii.  3,  and 
Tit.  ii.  3)  StafioXoi,  false  accusers.  But 
as  a  proper  name,  it  belongs  only  to  the 
one  arch-fiend.  Demons  many  there  are. 
Spirits  foul  and  false  are  often  mentioned, 
and  this  word  is  translated  unhappily,  by 
the  word  devil,  in  our  English  Bibles. 
There  is,  however,  but  one  devil.  He  is 
symbolized  by  the  great  red  dragon. 

The  suitableness  of  the  figure  is  very 
apparent,  as  we  are  familiar  with  the 
serpent  in  the  same  application.  In  na- 
ture, the  animal  called  dragon,  differs 
very  little  from  the  serpent :  and  this 
last  was  the  instrument  of  Satan  in  the 
original  attack  upon  man.  Indeed,  the 
words  are  interchanged  :  for  the  dragon 
of  verse  3,  is  called  serpent  in  verses  9 
and  15.  "That  old  serpent, — the  ser- 
pent cast  out  of  his  mouth  waters." 


But  as  the  serpent  was  merely  the 
visible  instrument  which  the  devil  used 
to  deceive  and  ruin  our  first  parents ;  so 
the  same  evil  spirit,  called  the  dragon  or 
serpent,  employs  the  Roman  govern- 
ment as  his  agent  to  harass  and  torment 
the  spiritual  seed  of  the  woman.  This 
arch-fiend  refuses  no  instrument  that  may 
be  made  available.  A  serpent,  Imperial 
Babylon,  Imperial  Rome,  a  horde  of 
French  Illuminees,  an  ungodly  philo- 
sopher, poet  or  historian ;  any  thing  he 
accepts  that  may  conceal  his  own  native 
hideousness,  and  within  and  from  behind 
which  he  may  succeed  in  injuring  the 
saints  of  God.  Herod  was  but  the  in- 
strument of  Satan,  when  he  sought  the 
young  child's  life :  Babylon  carried  cap- 
tives the  Jews,  but  Diabolus  ruled  her 
tyrannical  movements :  pagan  Rome 
sluiced  the  best  blood  of  the  empire  in 
ten  general  persecutions,  but  the  great 
red  dragon  was  incarnate  in  her :  and 
so  here,  the  same  seven-headed,  ten- 
horned,  and  ten-crowned  government, 
is  the  instrument :  still  it  is  that  old  ser- 
pent, the  devil,  that  persecutes  the  true 
church  of  God 

Having  by  anticipation  settled  the 
question  as  to  the  belligerents  in  this 
war,  let  us  now  proceed  with  the  con- 
text which  describes  the  war  itself. 

Verses  7-9.  "  And  there  was  war  in 
heaven  :  Michael  and  his  angels  fought 
against  the  dragon,  and  the  dragon 
fought  and  his  angels,  and  prevailed 
not;  neither  was  their  place  found  any 
more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon 
was  cast  out,  that  old  serpent  called  the 
devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the 
whole  world  :  he  was  cast  out  into  the 
earth,  and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with 
him." 

It  will  be  observed,  that  the  seat  of 
this  war  is  the  ecclesiastical  heaven. 
From  the  period  of  the  apostacy  of  Rome, 
Satan  used  the  corrupt  antichristian 
church  as  his  leading  instrument  in  op- 
pressing the  true  body  of  pure  worship- 
pers. From  the  time  that  Boniface  III. 
was  declared  universal  bishop,  the  devil 
made  the  apostate  church  his  defences, 
Rome  his  head-quarters,  and  the  Vatican 
his  citadel.     Thence  he   sent  forth  his 


204 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


dark  legions  of  error  to  execute  the  de- 
crees of  a  gloomy  superstition,  and  break 
down  the  spirit  of  the  nations  into  a  base 
and  tyrannical  subserviency.  For  more 
than  nine  hundred  years  his  chief  in- 
struments of  warfare  against  the  saints 
of  God  were  the  ecclesiastical  powers  in 
their  various  branches.  Here  was  the 
fiend  incarnate.  Ecclesiastical  dictation 
governed  the  world.  Crowns  were  empty 
baubles,  until  anointed,  and  placed  upon 
the  head  by  the  Pope's  authority.  Even 
the  imperial  purple  had  no  lustre,  until 
the  holy  chrism  permitted  its  brilliancy  to 
shine  forth.  Oppression  was  ecclesias- 
tical. Civil  government  was  merely  the 
Pope's  hangman  and  the  devil's  execu- 
tioner. It  is  an  historical  verity,  that 
mankind,  during  these  dark  ages,  felt 
little,  and  little  dreaded  the  tyranny  of 
the  civil  magistrate.  Satan  concentrated 
all  his  despotism  into  the  leaden  sceptre 
and  the  iron  yoke  of  the  "  mother  of 
harlots  and  abomination  of  the  earth." 
These  weighed  down  the  spirit  of  the 
human  race.  Whatever  the  civil  powers 
did  toward  crushing  man  to  the  dust,  and 
destroying  the  seed  of  the  symbolical 
woman,  they  did  even  this  by  the  order 
of  the  church,  as  directed  by  the  devil 
and  his  angels. 

It  was  against  these  that  the  Son  of 
God,  Michael  and  his  angels,  fought. 
Sustained  by  his  grace  and  strengthened 
by  his  power,  the  masculine  progeny  of 
the  woman  maintained  the  unequal  but 
not  doubtful  conflict. 

But  the  dragon  and  his  angels  pre- 
vailed not,  iffyutfav,  had  not  strength ; 
that  is,  to  succeed  in  overpowering  and 
destroying  entirely  the  true  church.  On 
the  contrary,  he  was  obliged  in  the  end 
to  shift  his  quarters,  so  far  as  direct  and 
active  assault  was  concerned.  An  eject- 
ment was  brought  against  them,  and  they 
were  forced  to  betake  themselves  to  an- 
other than  mere  ecclesiastical  agency. 
The  supremacy  of  despotic  rule,  which 
for  a  long  time  was  acknowledgedly  in 
the  Papal  power,  or  ecclesiastical  bod//, 
passed  again  into  the  civil  authorities. 
The  long  war  of  the  investiture  was  de- 
termined in  favour  of  the  kings  or  ten 
horns,  and  these  again  became  Satan's 


main  dependence  in  crushing  the  spirit 
of  truth  and  of  freedom. 

Verses  10-12.  "  And  I  heard  a  loud 
voice,  saying  in  heaven,  Now  is  come 
salvation,  and  strength,  and  the  kingdom 
of  our  God,  and  the  power  of  his  Christ : 
for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast 
down,  which  accused  them  before  our 
God  day  and  night.  And  they  overcame 
him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by 
the  word  of  their  testimony  :  and  they 
loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death. 
Therefore  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye 
that  dwell  in  them.  Woe  to  the  inhabi- 
ters  of  the  earth  and  of  the  sea,  for  the 
devil  is  come  down  unto  you,  having 
great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that  he 
hath  but  a  short  time." 

1.  The  locality  of  this  great  voice  first 
claims  our  attention.  It  is  within  the 
ecclesiastical  world.  The  true  church, 
it  will  be  remembered,  is  geographically 
and  nominally  included  within  the  great 
catholic  body.  But  this  is  manifestly 
not  the  voice  of  this  body,  but  of  the 
followers  of  Michael. 

2.  It  is  the  exulting  language  of  the 
Protestant  Reformers,  who  dared  to  ex- 
press their  joy  upon  the  defeat  of  the 
Papal  machinations. 

3.  The  means  of  these  victories  thus 
celebrated.  Two  are  mentioned.  They 
conquered  through  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  by  the  great  doctrine  of  atone- 
ment. And,  that  this  was  the  leading 
doctrine  of  Luther,  Zuingle,  Calvin,  and 
others,  through  which  they  preached 
salvation  by  free  grace,  in  opposition  to 
the  Papal  system  of  conditional  salva- 
tion, all  their  writings  testify. 

4.  The  apostle  next  notices  the  cheer- 
ful self-devotion  of  the  Reformers.  They 
counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them- 
selves, but  willingly  exposed  them  to 
the  fierce  opposition  of  their  foes. 

5.  This  partial  destruction,  this  limit- 
ation of  the  Papal  authority,  this  eject- 
ment of  Satan  from  ecclesiastical  power 
and  success  by  it,  is  cause  of  joy  to  the 
true  church, — the  heavens  and  their  in- 
habitants. The  term  is  changed  to  the 
plural,  that  we  may  distinguish  it  from 
the  symbolical  heaven  of  the  first  verse. 
And  who  knows  not  the  joy  which  per- 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


205 


vaded  the  reformed  ranks,  when  the 
Papal  arm  was  c  ippled  ?  when  that 
power  was  no  longer  able  to  carry  all 
before  it  ? 

6.  But  whilst  as  members  of  the  true 
church,  the  witnesses  rejoiced  at  the 
change,  yet  as  members  of  the  civil 
community,  they  with  all  other  dwellers 
of  the  Roman  e  rth,  or  citizens  of  the 
various  kingdom; ,  are  assured  of  coming 
calamities,  from  the  diabolical  policy, 
that  would  now  more  than  ever  be 
practised  in  the  civil  departments.  The 
political  diplomacy  and  standing  army 
system,  more  fully  gone  into  since  the 
wane  of  direct  ecclesiastical  power,  and 
the  stern  and  strong  governments  exer- 
cised in  modern  Europe,  are  a  full  com- 
ment upon  this  language.  This  period, 
when  Satan  ceases  to  be  an  ecclesiastic 
and  becomes  a  politician,  is  to  be  but  of 
short  duration  ;  yet  during  its  continu- 
ance, he  will  display  great  energy,  great 
wrath, — $u(jtov,  rather  spirit,  life.  And 
we  think  the  history  of  modern  diplo- 
macy and  wars  answers  to  the  prophetic 
delineation. 

7.  Satan's  political  career  will  be  but 
short,  comparatively.  For  nine  hundred 
years,  he  played  the  monk, — he  ruled 
as  the  head  of  the  church  ;  but  as  a 
politician,  he  will  flourish  little  over 
three  hundred. 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and  in- 
quire, how  the  facts  have  been  since  the 
Reformation, — how  are  they  now  ?  Are 
not  all  the  kingdoms  or  governments 
despotic?  Are  they  not  hostile  to  Chris- 
tianity as  a  pure  religion  ?  Is  not  Chris- 
tianity viewed  in  every  one  of  them,  and 
treated  simply  as  an  instrument  of  bol- 
stering up  their  power?  In  Protestant 
England,  incomparably  the  least  diabo- 
lical of  them  all,  how  is  it?  Whilst  it 
is  true,  that  there  is  a  large  body  of  pure 
Christians,  real  and  sincere  worship- 
pers of  God,  is  it  not  equally  true,  that 
the  government  views  religion  merely 
as  a  part  of  state  policy?  Would  not 
the  monarch,  who  is  the  head  of  the 
establishment,  crush  all  the  dissenting 
churches  at  a  blow,  if  it  could  be  done 
with  interest  to  the  crown  ?  Does  it 
not  support  Romanism  in  Canada  ?  and 


did  it  not,  through  the  East  India  go- 
vernment, until  forced  by  public  senti- 
ment at  home,  oppose  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  into  Hindostan  ?  Does 
it  not  at  this  hour  sustain,  in  some  sense, 
paganism  in  that  country?  Could  it  not 
by  a  simple  order  put  an  end  for  ever 
to  the  bloody  rites  and  horrible  immola- 
tions of  the  suttee  ?  But  let  us  cite 
verse  13.  "And  when  the  dragon  saw 
that  he  was  cast  unto  the  earth,  he  per- 
secuted the  woman  which  brought  forth 
the  man  child." 

Is  it  not  written  in  the  face  of  Euro- 
pean history,  that  the  ten  horns  are  hos- 
tile to  every  thing  but  the  state  religion? 
Have  they  not  always  been  throwing 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  strictly  evan- 
gelical bodies?  Have  they  not  clearly 
discovered  the  republican  tendency  of 
pure  Christianity  1  Look  at  Scotland, 
France,  Geneva  and  other  parts  of 
Switzerland,  and  say  whether  the  dra- 
gon is  not  even  now  persecuting  the 
woman. 

Vei'se  14.  "  And  to  the  woman  were 
given  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle,  that 
she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness,  into 
her  place,  where  she  is  nourished  for  a 
time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,  from  the 
face  of  the  serpent." 

Here  is  described  in  language  not 
easily  misunderstood,  the  retreat  of  the 
true  church  from  the  face  of  her  tor- 
mentors. She  is  obliged  to  fly,  and 
God  furnishes  her  with  wings,  the  means 
of  escape.  And  how  often  have  the 
Protestants  taken  refuge  in  mountain 
cliffs,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth,  that  they  might  worship  God  their 
redeemer  !  How  often  have  they  assem- 
bled by  flight,  literally  in  the  wilderness  ! 
Though,  as  before  said,  the  desolate 
state  is  the  chief  thing  intended  to  be 
represented. 

Fond  fancy  has  often  applied  this 
prophecy  to  the  wilderness-land  which 
we  inhabit,  and  the  fact  of  its  having 
been  a  place  of  refuge  for  multitudes  of 
oppressed  Protestants.  This  we  have 
long  treated  merely  as  a  pleasing  fancy. 
But  a  full  and  candid  examination  of 
the  language,  with  a  special  eye  to  its 
chronology,  has  constrained  us  to  look 


206 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


more  favourably  upon  it.     Let  us  note 
particulars. 

It  is  an  historical  verity,  that  the 
American  colonies,  now  the  United 
States,  were  originally  planted  by  re- 
fugees from  the  oppressions  of  Europe — 
oppressions  by  the  civil  government,  on 
account  of  religious  opinions.  The 
Huguenot  from  France ;  the  Scottish 
refugee  from  Holland,  with  the  Hol- 
lander himself;  the  English  Indepen- 
dent ;  and  the  Scotch  and  English  Pres- 
byterians— these  were  the  masculine 
progeny  of  the  woman,  whom  the  devil 
incarnate  in  European  despotism  forced 
from  their  native  lands  ;  but  whom  God 
furnished  with  two  wings  of  a  great 
eagle,  by  which  they  were  wafted  above 
the  Atlantic  billows,  and  the  more  relent- 
less billows  of  antichristian  persecution, 
to  this  wilderness.  Prior  to  most  of 
these,  the  heroic  Admiral  Coligni,  and 
the  noble  Prince  of  Conde,  had  planned 
and  partly  executed  the  planting  of  a 
Protestant  colony  of  Huguenots  on  the 
Florida  coast.  The  time  for  this  had 
scarcely  arrived.  God  required  the  pre- 
cious blood  of  these  illustrious  men  to 
seal  the  damnation  of  the  French  mo- 
narchy on  the  eve  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
day.  It  remained,  at  a  later  period,  for 
some  of  their  survivors  in  the  same 
glorious  cause,  to  throw  in  the  richest 
blood  of  France  upon  our  southern 
shores. 

Look  at  the  dates  of  these  events. 
See  whether  the  chronology  of  inspira- 
tion and  of  history  agree.  The  former 
requires  the  colonies  to  be  planted  after 
the  maiming  of  the  Papacy  by  the  Pro- 
testant Reformation.  This  reformation 
began  in  1517  ;  its  advocates  were  de- 
nominated Protestants  in  1529,  from 
their  protest  at  the  Diet  of  Spires.  In 
1530,  the  league  of  Smalkalde  was 
established  ;  in  1552  the  peace  of  Pas- 
sau;  in  1598,  the  edict  of  Nantes  passed 
by  Henry  IV.  of  France  gave  rest  to 
the  French  Protestants.  But  there  was 
not  a  full  and  permanent  settlement 
until  the  glorious  Revolution  of  1688. 

America  was  discovered  in  1492, 
when  Martin  Luther  was  just  nine  years 
old.     The  colony  of  Massachusetts  bay 


was  planted  by  the  Plymouth  pilgrims, 
December  22d,  1620. 

Do  not  chronology  and  history  seem 
both  to  say  that  this  land  was  discovered 
and  prepared  as  a  place  of  refuge  from 
the  devices  of  Satan,  operating  in  the 
arbitrary  governments  of  Europe? 

Again, — the  mode  of  her  escape  is  to 
be  observed ;  by  eag!  ;s'  wings.  The 
true  church  often  fled  from  her  foes  and 
escaped  destruction.  But  on  this  occa- 
sion only  is  she  furn  shed  with  wings, 
as  if  to  lift  her  up  wh  :n  no  other  means 
are  left.  The  fact  here  affirmed  seems 
well  adapted  to  poin',  out  her  escape  to 
a  retreat  otherwise  inaccessible.  Other 
retreats  she  sought  and  found  without 
these  aids  ;  but  now  a  refuge  is  provided, 
which  she  cannot  reach  unless  wafted  on 
the  pinions  of  a  great  eagle.  Driven  to 
the  utmost  verge  of  Europe  and  just 
about  to  perish  in  the  ocean's  wave,  she 
is  supplied  with  such  agency  as  enables 
her  to  seek  a  resting-place  in  the  distant 
wilderness. 

Now  it  is  not  necessary  to  maintain, 
that  all  the  true  church  fled  thus  ;  but  a 
portion  did.  Nor  do  we  say  that  the 
natural  wilderness  is  the  main  thing. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  morally  deso- 
late state,  the  afflicted  condition,  that  is 
chiefly  intended.  "  O  that  I  had  wings 
like  a  dove !  for  then  would  I  fly  away 
and  be  at  rest."  (Ps.  lv.  6.)  And  God 
says  of  his  church,  "  I  bare  you  on 
eagles'  wings,  and  brought  you  unto  my- 
self." (Exodus  xix.  4.)  The  means 
of  escape  is  the  thing  implied  in  our 
text,  and  this  was  the  shipping,  by 
whose  wings  they  are  wafted  to  our 
shores. 

Yet  after  all,  who  shall  say  that  the 
Spirit  of  God,  whose  eye  sees  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  designed  in  this  lan- 
guage, no  reference  to  the  eagle  banner 
of  the  American  Republic?  What  rule 
of  sound  interpretation  is  there  to  pre- 
clude this?  And  if  there  be  none,  are 
we  not  bound,  by  the  rule  which  com- 
mands us  to  take  out  of  every  writing 
all  that  can  be  deduced  from  it  by  fair 
criticism,  in  consistency  with  the  subject- 
matter  discussed,  to  admit  this  very  al- 
lusion ? 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


207 


Should  we  not  therefore,  allow  that 
the  Spirit  of  Omnipotence  glanced  for- 
ward and  saw  the  persecuted  Protestants 
flitting  across  the  broad  ocean, — saw  an 
eagle-eyed  ministry  watching  over  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  and  the  outspread 
wings  of  the  star-spangled  banner  che- 
rishing the  pure  principles  of  religious 
and  civil  freedom  in  this  western  land  ? 
Who  shall  say  that  this  eagle  of  the 
mountain  cliff,  commissioned  as  the  mes- 
senger of  Jehovah,  may  not,  in  the  day 
of  his  appointment,  dart  across  the  wide 
Atlantic,  strike  his  talons  to  the  heart 
of  Antichrist,  and  free  at  once  the  church 
and  the  world  from  the  triple  bondage 
of  tyranny  ! 

Verses  15-17.  "  And  the  serpent 
cast  out  of  his  mouth  water  as  a  flood 
after  the  woman,  that  he  might  cause 
her  to  be  carried  away  of  the  flood.  And 
the  earth  helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth 
opened  her  mouth  and  swallowed  up  the 
flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth.  And  the  dragon  was  wroth  with 
the  woman,  and  went  to  make  war  with 
the  remnant  of  her  seed,  which  keeps 
the  commandment  of  God,  and  have  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Let  us  keep  our  eye  on  chronology. 
The  matters  here  described  are  subse- 
quent to  the  eagle  flight  of  the  woman. 
Let  us  also  remember,  that  the  serpent 
is  Diabolus,  and  that  he  at  this  juncture 
is  using  the  horns  of  the  great  Roman 
beast,  as  his  chief  instrument  of  injury 
to  the  true  church. 

The  word  translated  flood,  is  the 
same  as  that  used  in  Matt.  vii.  25,  "  the 
floods  came  and  beat  upon  that  house 
and  it  fell."  It  means  a  large  mass  of 
water,  confined  by  banks  and  rolling 
along  with  great  rapidity  and  force. 
The  banks  are  often  undermined,  and 
whatever  is  upon  them  falls  into  the  turbid 
stream.  Can  we  imagine  a  more  striking 
symbol  to  shadow  forth  that  philosophy, 
and  those  corrupt  opinions,  which  under- 
mine the  edifice  of  individual  and  social 
morality ;  and  cause  the  house  to  totter 
before  we  are  aware  of  the  danger? 
Thus  infidelity  sweeps  offthe  whole  struc- 
ture. Civil  government  and  religious  in- 
stitutions sink  in  the  boiling  eddy  of  the 


foul  stream  which  issues  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  devil.  Here  is  a  most  admirable 
description  of  that  horrible  system  of  un- 
godly philosophy  which  deluged  Europe, 
and  which  more  especially  overwhelmed 
the  people  of  France.  Diabolus  did  not 
design  to  destroy  Popery  nor  despotism 
with  it.  His  aim  was  to  destroy  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  and  the  morality 
which  springs  from  it,  and  so  to  engulf 
the  nations  in  a  flood  of  anarchy ;  well 
knowing,  that  from  its  wild  waters  must 
rise  up  an  iron-handed  oppression. 

We  are  here  taught,  that  after  Satan 
shall  have  been  compelled  to  abandon 
the  hope  of  tyrannizing  over  the  nations 
by  means  of  the  ecclesiastical  monarchy 
as  his  chief  instrument,  he  will  betake 
himself  to  the  civil  governments  again  ; 
and  during  the  period  of  his  dependence 
on  them,  he  will  use  all  manner  of  false 
doctrines  to  corrupt  its  members  and  de- 
stroy the  foundations  of  society. 

Among  these  may  be  named  the  all- 
pervading  heresy,  known  as  Pelagian — 
which  is  the  grand  error  of  the  Papacy. 
By  this  radical  falsehood  has  the  church 
ever  been  tormented  ;  for  it  is  the  root 
and  foundation  of  all  heresies.  It  be- 
guiled man  in  paradise,  and  assuming  a 
hundred  shapes  it  continues  to  lead  him 
down  to  perdition. 

But  the  flood  from  the  serpent's  mouth 
is  a  peculiar  modification  of  this  funda- 
mental error.  These  turbid  waters,  are 
the  vulgar  infidelity  of  Voltaire  and  the 
French  school ;  the  polite  system  of  Bo- 
lingbroke,  Hume  and  the  English  school ; 
the  vile  ribaldry  of  Paine,  and  the  Anglo- 
American  school,  if  school  it  can  well 
be  called,  where  stupidity  teaches  igno- 
rance. All  these  came  forth,  foul  and 
fetid,  from  the  mouth  of  Diabolus,  and 
were  directed  against  the  true  church. 

It  is  perfectly  obvious  that  all  these 
forms  of  infidelity  coalesce  in  one  end, — 
the  destruction  of  the  church  of  God. 
And  it  is  equally  clear,  that  they  have 
a  foreign  origin  ;  we  mean  as  to  the 
visible  agency.  Multitudes  of  native 
Americans  have  been  drawn  into  the 
troubled  whirlpool  of  their  unbridled 
abominations.  But  still,  the  devil,  who 
is  the  real  author  of  them  all,  has  en- 


208 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


listed  the  various  interests  of  despotism 
in  Europe  to  facilitate  his  operations  : 
and  he  must  be  already  infected  with 
the  virus  of  this  plague,  who  cannot  see 
a  systematic  assault  carried  on  against 
this  republic,  by  foreign  powers,  through 
the  agency  of  a  corrupt  and  diabolical 


France,  embraced,  with  avidity,  athe- 
istic doctrines  ;  they  monopolized  them, 
as  it  were,  for  a  time :  and  these  doc- 
trines very  soon  produced  their  legiti- 
mate fruits  ;  upon  which  they  themselves 
and  the  other  nations  of  Europe,  became 
terrified.     Satan  had  proceeded  too  fast : 


philosophy.  War  is  indeed  declared  }  and  the  fearful  consequences  of  infidelity 
openly  against  the  Christian  ministry  in  upon  the  civil  affairs  of  the  world,  pro- 
this  land  and  against  the  church  of  duced  a  tremendous  reaction.  Mankind 
God ;  but  under  profession  of  warm  at-  ;  stood  aghast.     The  nations   combined  ; 


tachment  to  religion.  These  men  appro- 
bate religion,  but  never  disclose  what 
their  religious  belief  is.  We  may  read 
their  productions  again  and  again,  and 
find  nothing  that  would  commit  them  to 


atheism  was  checked  by  force,  and  the 
world  was  saved  from  a  suicidal  grave. 
Thus  the  earth  helped  the  woman  in 
Europe.  So  was  it  in  our  own  country. 
The  flood  in  some  degree  reached  us  : 


any  one  of  the  peculiar  distinguishing  ,  but  God  had  preserved  our  Washington. 


doctrines  of  the  gospel.  Their  religion 
must  be  expressed  in  terms  so  broad  and 
general  as  not  to  offend  Christian,  Turk 
or  Jew  ;  angel,  man  or  devil.  The  effort 
here  and  now,  like  that  of  Voltaire  and 
his  accomplices,  is  directed  to  this  one 


He  stood  firm  at  the  helm,  and  steered 
the  noble  vessel  safely  through  the  break- 
ers, the  eddies,  and  the  whirlpools  of  an 
infidel  philosophy. 

Verse  17.    But,  it  will  be  asked,  why 
was  the  dragon  so  wroth  at  the  woman 


point ;    to  engraft  their  infidelity  upon  j  and  her  seed,  if  it  was  the  earth  that  in- 
the  popular  element, — to  infect  the  poor  !  terposed  ?  The  answer  is  simple.  It  was 


and  unlearned  with  their  poison  :  well 
knowing,  that  if  they  can  make  this 
people  believe  that  infidelity  is  a  friend 
to  freedom,  infidelity  will  become  the 
popular  religion.     Hence  they  are   ex- 


the  woman's  seed,  the  sincere  worship- 
pers of  God,  scattered  up  and  down 
through  the  nations,  that  constituted  "the 
salt  of  the  earth,"  and  saved  the  mass 
from   putrefaction.     But   for   the  moral 


trcmely  anxious  to  muzzle  the  pulpit ;  !  stamina  of  the  really  pious  people,  there 
and  the  scheme  for  accomplishing  this  had  not  been  nerve  and  power  in  the 
is,  to  make  infidelity  a  part  of  politics  ;  I  world  to  resist  the  fearful  onset.  These 
then  of  course,  the  clergy  must  not  ex-  \  things  are  most  evident.     Can  any  one 


pose   it,  for  that    would    be  interfering 
with  politics. 

But  these  schemes  for  our  destruction, 
will  be  disappointed.  The  watchmen 
on  Zion's  walls  will  lift  up  their  voice, 
point  out  the  danger  and  the  remedy ; 
and   the  freemen  of  this  land,  will  raise 


be  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  Britain  was 
the  grand  barrier  against  which  this  flood 
spent  its  force  in  vain  ;  and  from  which 
its  billows  rolled  back  upon  their  source? 
But  it  was  the  vast  body  of  real  Protest- 
ants, the  male  children  of  the  woman, 
that  made  Britain  the  deliverer  of  Europe 


up   an   insuperable   barrier  to  ward  off*    from  the  wars  of  infidelity.     Hence  the 


these  foul  waters  of  death,  that  they  may 
not  undermine  the  glorious  fabric  of  our 
political  rights. 

Verse  16.    The  earth  helped  the  wo- 
man, by  drinking  the  waters  of  infidelity 


wrath  of  Diabolus,  and  his  warring  with 
the  remnant  of  her  seed.  This  conflict 
now  rages.  The  dragon  even  now 
lashes  himself  to  madness  against  the 
pure  church.     His  head  erect,  turns  in 


from  the  dragon's  mouth.    But  is  it  con-  '  all  directions,  and  his  glaring  eyeballs 


ceivable,  that  the  despotic  powers  of 
Europe,  under  satanic  influence,  would 
knowingly  yield  to  the  woman  any  aid? 
If  not,  what  is  meant  by  this  1  The 
truths  of  history  respond.  The  men 
who  held  political  power,  especially  in 


watch  the  woman  and  her  seed.  Even 
now,  the  eagle-eye  of  the  American 
church  is  upon  him;  the  piercing  glance 
of  her  ministry  meets  him,  and  he 
blenches  and  quails :  and  thus  will  he 
be  kept  in  check  until  the  battle  is  over, 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


209 


and  he  shall  be  chained  and  imprisoned 
for  a  thousand  years.  \ 

In  conclusion,  we  adduce  a  few  prac- 
tical thoughts. 

1.  All  oppressive  rule  is  through  the 
agency  of  Satan.  Government  itself, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  is  from  God ;  its 
abuse  and  corruption  are  from  the  evil 
one. 

The  degeneracy  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try, and  their  degradation  to  mere  time- 
serving politicians,  is  also  from  him. 
Every  minister  of  religion  who  abandons 
the  Redeemer's  service,  and  devotes  him- 
self to  political  intrigue,  ought  to  be  cut 
off  from  the  sacred  office.  Where  do 
we  find  the  outcry  against  ministers  aim- 
ing at  a  union  of  church  and  state,  but 
among  those  who  have  shown  a  dispo- 
sition to  fall  into  the  wake  of  the  red 
dragon?  Upon  their  own  heads  be  the 
censure  of  such  a  charge. 

2.  Let  us  remember  that  the  dragon 
is  in  the  seats  of  despotism.  Hence 
are  to  arise  the  persecutors  of  the  true 
church.  Popery  is  indeed  the  secret 
instigator,  but  the  civil  powers  are  to 
make  war  against  the  witnesses  and 
slay  them.  It  is  our  duty  to  guard  our 
shores,  that  Antichrist  light  not  upon 
them,  that  he  seize  not  our  government. 

3.  Infidelity  is  the  present  hope  of 
Satan :  his  present  instrument  of  assault. 
He  is  now  labouring  earnestly  to  work 
it  into  the  web  of  politics.  The  master- 
stroke on  which  his  efforts  all  now  con- 
centrate in  our  country,  is  to  consoli- 
date such  an  interest  with  his  followers, 
that  they  shall  be  courted  by  the  two 
leading  political  parties.  Should  this 
occur,  and  should  either  party  succeed 
in  winning  over  to  its  ranks  the  anti- 
religious,  the  infidel,  the  agrarian,  the 
anti-clergy  party, — whichever  may  suc- 
ceed in  such  a  wooing,  most  assuredly 
will  find  God  and  his  spiritual  church 
opposed  to  them.  In  deep  sincerity  and 
with  all  becoming  freedom,  should  we 
entreat  those,  whose  duty  calls  them  to 
public  offices,  to  guard  against  such  an 
unhappy  state  of  things.  We  fondlv 
hope,  that  both  the  great  parties  of  our 
country  will  denounce  the  spirit  of  wick- 
ed, reckless  infidelity,  will  rise  in  the  ma- 

27 


jesty  of  truth,  and  crush  the  spawn  of 
this  serpent,  ere  it  hatches  into  life  its 
hellish  brood.  Let  them  bruise  Satan 
under  their  feet.  It  is  his  imps  mingling 
in  political  strife  that  endanger  the  well- 
being  of  our  country.  Away  with  agra- 
rianism,  infidelity  and  atheism.  Then 
our  political  horizon,  freed  from  the  vile 
exhalations  which  Diabolus  engenders, 
will  be  pure  for  the  breath  of  freemen : 
then  our  political  contentions  will  be  the 
emulation  of  brothers,  and  all  end  in  the 
good  of  the  republic. 

May  God  give  us  wisdom  to  build  on 
the  solid  r.ock  of  his  own  truth  our  state 
edifice ;  then  let  the  flood  beat  as  it  may, 
we  shall  only  laugh  at  the  passing  tor- 
rents as  they  roll  and  spend  their  fury  in 
vain,  against  our  impenetrable  bulwarks. 


LECTURE  XXIV. 

THE  SECULAR  AND  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL 
BEASTS. 

Rev.  xiii.  1-13. 

Daniel's  vision  of  the  four  beasts 
coming  up  out  of  the  sea,  after  it  was 
violently  agitated  by  the  four  winds  of 
heaven,  exhibits,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
rise  of  the  four  great  monarchies  from 
the  ocean  of  human  population,  excited 
by  the  violence  of  corrupt  passions. 
These  monarchies  though  diverse  are 
yet  one :  in  form  and  accident  differing 
slightly ;  in  life  and  spirit  one  and  the 
same.  The  vision  of  John  described  in 
this  chapter,  is  manifestly  identical  as  to 
its  subject,  differing  as  to  some  accidents. 

Verse  12:  "And  I  stood  upon  the 
sand  of  the  sea,  and  saw  a  beast  rise 
out  of  the  sea,  having  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns,  and  upon  his  horns  ten 
crowns,  and  upon  his  head  the  name  of 
blasphemy.  And  the  beast  which  I  saw 
was  like  unto  a  leopard,  and  his  feet 
were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and  his  mouth 
as  the  mouth  of  a  lion ;  and  the  dragon 
gave  him  his  power  and  his  seat  and 
great  authority." 

The  first    thing   that  attracts    notice 


210 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


here,  is  the  common  origin  of  this  with 
the  beasts  of  Daniel.  They  come  up 
out  of  the  agitated  sea  :  tyranny  springs 
up  from  the  midst  of  society,  rendered 
boisterous  and  turbid  by  the  agency  of 
the  prince  of  the  powers  of  the  air. 

They  are  all  (*)?ipia)  beasts  of  prey : 
however  diverse,  yet  one  in  spirit.  The 
one  beast  of  John  comprehends  the  lead- 
ing characteristics  of  the  named  three 
of  Daniel.  There  is  here  the  boldness 
and  courage  of  the  Babylonian  lion,  the 
rou"h  barbarity  of  the  Medo-Persian 
bear,  the  wily  activity  of  the  Grecian 
leopard.  Here  are  also  the  ten  horns  of 
Daniel's  nondescript.  Now  it  is  settled 
beyond  reasonable  doubt,  that  this  mon- 
ster of  the  ancient  prophet  is  a  symbol 
of  the  Roman  empire;  and  with  equal 
certainty  do  we  conclude  that  this  Apo- 
calyptic monster  is  the  Roman  civil 
power. 

We  are,  moreover,  constrained  to  ad- 
mit the  substantial  identity  of  the  entire 
four  ;  the  latter  embodying  the  visible 
peculiarities  and  the  essential  spirit  of 
the  whole.  This  unity,  we  have  said, 
is  set  forth  in  the  great  image  of  our 
leading  vision.  The  ten  toes  of  the 
monster  man  are  the  ten  horns  of  the 
monster  beast. 

Let  us  next  observe  the  points  of 
diversity. 

1.  He  has  seven  heads.  So  was  it 
said  of  the  dragon  (xii.  3) ;  and  also  of 
the  scarlet-coloured  beast  (xvii.  3),  on 
which  is  seated  the  woman  arrayed  in 
purple  and  scarlet.  But  in  verse  9,  we 
are  told  that  the  seven  heads  "  are  seven 
mountains  on  which  the  woman  sitteth," 
which  points  out  Rome  so  distinctly  that 
all  hesitancy  is  annihilated.  No  one 
can  doubt.  These  hills  of  the  Imperial 
City  are,  the  Palatine,  the  Capitoline, 
the  Quirinal,  the  Esquiline,  the  Viminal, 
and  the  Aventine. 

We  are  further  informed  (xviii.  10) 
that  these  hills  are  symbolical  of  seven 
kings.  This  last  universal  monarchy 
shall  exist  in  seven  different  forms.  Nor 
can  it  be  insisted  that  these  forms  shall 
co-exist ;  no  more  than  the  presentation 
of  the  four  beasts  to  Daniel  at  the  same 
time  make  it  necessary  for  us  to  sup- 


pose that  they  all  must  flourish  simulta- 
neously. On'  the  contrary,  though  seen 
in  vision  at  once,  they  exist  by  succes- 
sion. Here  also,  the  heads  are  forms 
or  modifications  of  the  one  supi-eme  des- 
potism. Accordant  with  this  is  the  very 
general  agreement  of  commentators,  that 
these  seven  heads  are  the  seven  forms  of 
government  which  have  existed  in  Rome: 
the  Kings,  the  Consuls,  the  Dictators, 
the  Decemvirs,  the  Military  Tribunes, 
the  Emperors,  the  Patricians. 

2.  "  Upon  his  heads  the  name  of  blas- 
phemy." Each  forehead  has  blasphemy 
inscribed  upon  it.  Each  of  these  forms 
of  government  is  corrupt,  and  bears 
upon  its  very  exterior  the  evidence  of 
opposition  to  the  true  God,  and  the  pu- 
rity of  his  religion.  Such  is  the  histo- 
rical truth.  Rome  has  always  been 
idolatrous.  For  a  short  period  indeed 
under  the  emperors,  after  Constantine, 
polytheism  and  idol  worship  were  sup- 
pressed ;  but  previously  to  that,  the  em- 
perors favoured  idolatry,  and  afterwards 
fell  back,  and  sold  themselves  to  the 
same  abominations. 

Now  the  source  of  this  power  is 
pointed  out.  The  dragon  gave  it  to 
him :  Diabolus  formed  this  city  and 
government  for  himself.  He  bestowed 
upon  the  government  its  wisdom,  cun- 
ning, energy,  and  policy. 

3.  Another  point  of  diversity  is  the 
wounded  head,  which  was  again  re- 
stored. Verse  3.  "  And  I  saw,  as  it 
were  one  of  his  heads  wounded  to  death  ; 
and  his  deadly  wound  was  healed  ;  and 
all  the  world  wondered  after  the  beast." 
One  of  these  forms  of  ruling  power  was 
wounded  ;  as  a  victim  is  bled  for  sacri- 
fice, as  an  animal  is  stabbed  in  order  to 
slaughter  it.  It  was  seen  to  bleed,  and 
that  nearly  to  destruction.  This  form 
was  well-nigh  abrogated  ;  but  before  it 
was  utterly  ruined,  relief  was  obtained, 
and  it  was  restored.  Here  again  history 
must  be  the  interpreter  of  prophecy. 
Which  then  of  the  seven  forms  of  go- 
vernment in  the  Roman  state  was  it, 
that  was  suppressed  for  a  time,  and 
again  revived  1  Which  head  was  pierced, 
but  did  not  bleed  to  utter  ruin? 

The  wounded  head    is    the    sixth   or 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


211 


imperial  form.  Upon  the  death  of  the 
great  Theodosius,  in  the  year  395,  the 
empire  was  divided  between  his  sons  ; 
the  eastern  section  being  conferred  by 
his  will  upon  Arcadius,  and  the  western 
upon  Honorius.  This  might  almost  be 
considered  a  dangerous  wound.  But  in 
476,  as  we  have  seen,  the  western  em- 
peror was  deposed  by  Odoacer,  who  pro- 
claimed himself  king  of  Italy.  Appa- 
rently as  to  the  Latin  or  western  empire, 
with  which  we  have  to  do,  the  head  was 
dead  ;  but  it  was  not  so  in  reality.  The 
western  half  of  the  body  was  separated 
from  the  imperial  head,  and  death  must 
soon  have  ensued.  But  after  seventeen 
years,  the  kingdom  of  Odoacer  passed 
away,  and  that  of  Theodoric,  the  Ostro- 
goth, took  its  place.  This  too  was  but 
of  short  duration  ;  for  about  553,  under 
the  renowned  Belisarius  and  Narses,  the 
generals  of  Justinian  I.,  emperor  of  the 
East,  Rome  and  Italy  were  again  re- 
duced into  subjection  to  the  imperial 
power,  and  thus  the  wounded  head  was 
healed.  The  fame  of  Justinian's  arms 
revived  the  recollection  of  the  old  Roman 
glory,  and  the  influence  of  his  code  of 
laws  arrested  the  attention  and  com- 
manded the  admiration  of  the  whole 
empire  :  all  the  Roman  world  wondered 
after  the  beast. 

Verse  4.  "  And  they  worshipped  the 
dragon  which  gave  power  unto  the  beast; 
and  they  worshipped  the  beast,  saying, 
Who  is  like  unto  the  beast?  Who, is 
able  to  make  war  with  him?" 

All  over  the  empire  a  fawning  sub- 
serviency was  manifested  toward  the 
tyrannical  power,  and  through  this,  to 
Diabolus,  who  invested  the  emperor  with 
this  power,  and  by  his  influences  in  the 
hearts  of  wicked  men,  sustained  the 
throne.  This  was  indeed  ever  the  case  ; 
but  peculiarly  so  was  it  upon  this  occa- 
sion of  the  great  restoration  of  the  glory 
of  the  empire.  It  was  peculiarly  so  also, 
fifty-three  years  afterwards,  when  Pho- 
cas  created  Boniface  III.  Universal  Bi- 
shop. The  doctrine  still  maintained  in 
the  empire  of  unconditional  submission, 
is  as  old  as  Rome.  The  most  servile 
adulation  and  base  flattery  was  paid  by 
the  bishops  of  Rome  and  the  mass  of 


the  people  to  the  very  basest  of  tyrants. 
And  it  is  worthy  of  particular  notice 
that  his  power  in  making  war  is  especi- 
ally the  object  of  wonder  and  veneration. 

Verses  5,  6.  "  And  there  was  given 
unto  him  a  mouth  speaking  great  things 
and  blasphemies,  and  power  was  given 
him  to  continue  forty  and  two  months. 
And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blasphemy 
against  God,  to  blaspheme  his  name, 
and  his  tabernacle,  and  them  that  dwell 
in  heaven." 

The  source  whence  this  power  for  evil 
is  derived  to  him  is  not  here  particularly 
mentioned.  That  was  already  done  in 
verse  2.  The  dragon  invested  him  with 
authority.  The  two  great  blasphemies 
are,  the  divine  right  claimed  for  kings, 
and  the  power  of  appointing  bishops. 
The  scripture  account  of  absolute  des- 
potism, is,  that  Satan  gave  it,  and  the 
blasphemous  slander  of  God  is  the  ar- 
gument by  which  the  doctrine  of  legiti- 
macy is  sustained  from  the  Bible.  "  All 
power  is  of  God ;  the  powers  that  be 
are  ordained  of  God,"  therefore  iron- 
handed  despotism  is  a  divine  institution. 
This  is  the  conclusion  of  its  friends,  but 
the  word  of  truth  proclaims  it  to  be  from 
below.  The  same  kind  of  logic  will 
prove  the  devil's  own  usurpations  to  be 
right  and  proper.  "  It  avails,"  says  Dr. 
McLeod,  "  Beelzebub,  the  prince,  as  well 
as  any  of  his  servants  or  instruments. 
Satan  is  powerful ;  there  is  no  power 
but  of  God ;  therefore  it  is  wrong  to  re- 
sist the  adversary." 

The  fallacy  here  lies  in  a  false  as- 
sumption. Paul  says,  "  the  powers  that 
be,"  s|outfjai,  that  is,  the  civil  government, 
is  an  ordinance  of  God  ;  but  the  assump- 
tion is,  that  he  means  arbitrary  power, 
might  without  right.  This  is  the  logic 
by  which  Diabolus  has  blasphemed  the 
Creator  for  a  score  of  centuries. 

The  other  blasphemy  is,  the  civil 
ruler  claiming  to  appoint  the  spiritual 
teachers.  This  was  done  pre-eminently 
by  Phocas.  Now  God  has  never  given 
that  power  to  the  civil  magistrate,  and 
whenever  he  assumes  it,  it  is  an  arrogant 
intrenchment  upon  divine  prerogative,  it 
is  a  blaspheming  of  God.  His  church 
is  not  of  this  world,  and   right  to  exer- 


212 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


cise  the  ruling  and  teaching  offices  in  it, 
can  never  be  derived  from  the  govern- 
ments of  this  world. 

Our  second  remark  on  these  verses 
refers  to  the  extent  of  duration  ;  forty 
and  two  months.  Continuance  of  being 
is  not  designated  here  ;  but  only  con- 
tinuance of  action  in  opposition  to  the 
pure  church.  The  word,  to  continue, 
is  not  justified  by  the  Greek  text:  it  is 
simply  to  act, — ffoiTJtfou.  It  is  the  same 
word  which  in  verse  4,  is  translated  to 
make,  to  carry  on,  to  practise :  and 
marks  the  period  during  which  the  civil 
authorities  of  the  empire  will  carry  out 
their  oppressive  power  derived  from 
Satan,  under  his  instigation,  for  the  in- 
jury of  the  church. 

Now  that  the  ten  horns,  the  civil 
kingdoms  of  the  Western  Roman  Empire, 
have  acted  out  these  principles  for  the 
last  twelve  centuries,  we  aver,  but  cannot 
here  go  into  the  detail.  It  must  be  left 
to  the  reader  of  history. 

One  more  observation  is  required  on 
these  two  verses.  These  governments 
have  blasphemed  God's  tabernacle  and 
its  worshippers,  in  that  they  have  in  ten 
thousand  forms,  interfered  and  corrupted 
religion,  and  traduced  the  sincere  and 
faithful  servants  of  the  Most  High. 
Every  persecution  which  they  have  car- 
ried on,  was  allied  with  this  blasphemy : 
for  they  justified  it  by  false  accusation 
and  corruption. 

Verses  7,  8.  "  And  it  was  given 
unto  him  to  make  wamvith  the  saints, 
and  to  overcome  them  :  and  power  was 
given  unto  him  over  all  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  nations.  And  all  that 
dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him, 
whose  names  are  not  written  in  the 
book  of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world." 

The  war  with  the  saints  is  the  same 
as  the  war  against  the  witnesses  ;  and 
the  universality  of  his  dominion  is,  of 
course,  limited  to  the  Latin  earth.  All 
Europe  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of 
the  emperor,  and  paid  homage  to  him  ; 
except  the  true  worshippers  of  God. 
These  men  would  not  acknowledge  the 
divine  right  of  arbitrary  despotism, 
whilst  they  always  admitted   that  civil 


government  is  of  God.  Nor  did  they 
ever  allow  the  right  of  the  emperor  and 
kings  to  dictate  in  matters  of  religion. 
The  elect  of  God, — those  "  whose  names 
were  written,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  in  the  book  of  life  of  the  slain 
Lamb,"  are  excepted  from  the  univer- 
sality of  slavish  and  debasing  adulation, 
especially  in  religious  things. 

There  is  here  a  slight  infelicity  in  our 
English  translation.  It  would  seem 
from  the  arrangement  of  the  words,  as 
if  the  phrase  "  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,"  was  designed  to  mark  the 
time  at  which  the  Lamb  was  slain ; 
whereas  it  refers  to  the  period  when 
their  names  were  written  in  his  book  of 
life.  This  infelicity  has  occasioned  a 
most  uncouth  comment  on  the  passage. 
The  question  arises,— how  was  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  ?  It  has  been  answered  that  he 
was  slain  in  the  divine  purpose.  Cut 
look  at  chap.  xvii.  8,  "  and  they  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder,  whose 
names  were  not  written  in  the  book  of 
life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
Clearly  the  period  marked  is  not  when 
the  Lamb  was  slain,  but  iclien  the  names 
were  written  in  the  book  of  life. 

The  precise  matter  affirmed  is,  that 
these  registered  soldiers  of  the  cross, 
whose  names  were  written  from  eternity 
in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,  shall  not 
worship  the  beast,  but  shall  lift  up  the 
words  of  their  testimony  against  him.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  we  have  already  seen,  there 
were  during  all  that  period,  and  are  yet, 
great  numbers  of  determined  and  self- 
devoted  men  in  the  church,  whose  voices 
were  raised  against  the  tyranny  of  the 
Pope,  the  emperor,  and  the  devil. 

Verse  9,  10.  "  If  any  man  have  an 
ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  He  that  lead- 
eth  into  captivity,  shall  go  into  captivity  ; 
he  that  killeth  with  the  sword,  must  be 
killed  with  the  sword.  Here  is  the  pa- 
tience and  the  faith  of  the  saints." 

There  is  here,  first,  a  solemn  invita- 
tion and  command  not  to  be  heedless. 
It  implies  that  some  are  asleep,  and  can- 
not for  that  reason  hear.  Some  are 
senseless,  and  have  no  capacity  to  under- 
stand the  plainest  language.     They  can 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


213 


see  no  possible  use  in  reading  and  study- 
ing the  Word  ;  at  all  events,  the  prophe- 
cies are  too  obscure  to  be  profitable  either 
for  reading  or  explanation. 

Still  God  will  always  have  some  to 
obey  his  voice.  He  has  never  given 
up  all  men  to  that  carelessness  and  se- 
curity which  shuts  its  eyes  and  avers 
that  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen:  stops 
its  ears  and  affirms  that  no  voice  speaks 
in  divine  revelation  and  providence.  It 
is  undeniable  that  the  obligation  to  hear 
is  pressed  upon  us  in  this  passage.  But 
why  is  it  thrown  in  just  at  this  juncture, 
unless  because  there  is  special  reason  in 
the  importance  of  the  subject  why  men 
should  attend  ?  Is  it  not  because  there 
is  peculiar  danger  that  they  will  not  feel 
without  this  particular  call  to  the  duty  of 
studying  the  prophecies,  that  measure  of 
interest  in  and  devotion  to  it,  which  its 
importance  demands? 

The  apostle  then  glances  forward  to- 
wards this  long  and  dreary  period  of 
Zion's  sorrows,  and  speaks  of  deliver- 
ance. Her  captors  shall  themselves  be- 
come captives :  her  murderers  shall 
themselves  perish  by  the  sword.  The 
day  of  God's  vengeance  and  the  year  of 
his  redeemed  shall  come.  Here,  in  this 
wilderness,  where  the  woman  sojourns, 
is  the  place  for  trying  the  patience  and 
perfecting  the  faith  of  the  saints, — a  pa- 
tience that  wearies  out  the  tormentors  of 
the  woman  and  her  seed, — a  faith  that 
rises  triumphant  above  the  smoke,  and 
extinguishes  the  death-fires,  of  a  thousand 
persecutions. 

We  proceed  to  the  two-horned  beasts 
of  the  earth ;  in  reference  to  whom  we 
shall  have  before  us, 

I.  The  beast,  with  his  two  horns. 
II.  His  practice. 

III.  The  image  of  the  beast. 

IV.  His  mark. 
V.  His  name. 

VI.  The  number  of  his  name. 

I.  The  beast  and  his  horns.  Verse  11: 
"  And  I  beheld  another  beast  coming 
up  out  of  the  earth  ;  and  he  had  two 
horns  like  unto  a  lamb,  and  he  spake  as 
a  dragon." 

The  origin  is  to  be  observed, — out  of 
the  earth, — the   Roman  empire  of  the 


West ;  not  the  sea,  or  the  violent  com- 
motions in  the  state.  These  may,  indeed, 
be  great  during  the  period  of  his  pro- 
duction; but  his  ascending,  (<xva/3aivov) 
his  rising  above  and  from  the  earth  is 
not  directly  owing  to  civil  commotions. 
He  is  a  wild  beast  like  the  other,  and 
exists  in  the  same  region :  a  second  fierce 
universal  monarchy.  How  can  this  be? 
Two  universal  empires  in  the  same  world! 
Is  not  this  a  contradiction?  Two  suns  in 
one  system !  Obviously,  in  the  same 
sense,  two  universal  despotisms  cannot 
cover  the  same  territory.  But  if  one  be 
a  civil,  and  the  other  a  spiritual  or  eccle- 
siastical power,  the  thing  is  not  incon- 
ceivable. The  ten-horned  beast  of  the 
sea,  is  Rome  'political,  and  we  will  short- 
ly see  that  this  two-horned  beast  of  the 
earth,  is  Rome  ecclesiastical. 

Toward  the  establishment  of  this  po- 
sition, let  us  proceed  in  search  of  the 
horns.  We  must  bear  in  mind,  that  the 
horn  is  a  symbol  of  power,  or  ruling  in- 
fluence. The  two  horns  here  must  re- 
present two  kingdoms,  or  two  forms  in 
which  the  beast  exerts  its  power.  These 
horns  are  not  crowned,  as  those  of  the 
other  beast.  Can  this  omission  be  an 
accident  ?  If  not,  then  wherefore  was  it 
made?  Manifestly,  to  inform  us  that  they 
possess  the  ruling  and  governing  in- 
fluence, without  the  formality  of  coro- 
nation :  they  are  not  truly  separate 
powers  independent  of  the  beast ;  but 
they  exert  their  energies  under  his  con- 
trol. 

These  horns  are  lamb-like,  and  of 
course,  give  the  characteristic  appear- 
ance of  a  lamb  to  the  whole  animal ; 
thus  making  it  a  suitable  emblem  of  a 
spiritual  government,  professedly  on  the 
principles  laid  down  by  "  the  Lamb  of 
God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world."  The  animal  thus  becomes  the 
representation  of  a  mild  and  gentle 
power,  exercising  its  reigning  influence 
mainly  through  two  branches,  not  inde- 
pendent on  the  original  source  of  the 
power. 

But  these  lamb's  horns  are,  neverthe- 
less, destined  to  carry  out  the  sentences 
of  a  dragon's  mouth.  This  beast  speaks' 
like  a  dragon,  — like  Satan.     His  teach- 


214 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ing,  and  ruling,  and  judging,  are  diabo- 
lical. Under  a  mild  and  unassuming 
form,  and  the  most  amiable  professions, 
he  bears  down  upon  the  true  church  with 
the  spirit  of  the  arch-fiend.  This  leads 
us  to  speak  of, 

II.  His  practice.  Verses  12,  13,  14: 
"  And  he  exerciseth  all  the  power  of  the 
first  beast  before  him,  and  causeth  the 
earth  and  them  which  dwell  therein,  to 
worship  the  first  beast,  whose  deadly 
wound  was  healed.  And  he  doeth  great 
wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire  come 
down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  men,  and  deceiveth  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  by  the  means  of  those 
miracles  which  he  had  power  to  do  in 
the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that  they  should 
make  an  image  to  the  beast,  which  had 
the  wound  by  the  sword  and  did  live." 

1.  We  learn  that  there  is  a  perfect 
harmony  between  the  two  beasts.  The 
ecclesiastical  practises  the  power  of  the 
civil,  avails  himself  of  it  at  pleasure : 
and  that  not  clandestinely,  but  openly, 
before  him,  at  his  very  face.  This  must 
be  either  by  concession  or  constraint. 
The  civil  power  is  openly  controlled  by 
the  religious  :  and  this,  because  it  is  used 
for  their  mutual  advantage.  The  cor- 
rupt church  brings  the  necks  of  the  peo- 
ple, all  over  the  Roman  world,  to  bow 
servilely  to  the  yoke  of  the  civil  beast. 

2.  Observe  the  arts  by  which  this 
base  bondage  is  brought  about.  It  is 
by  pretended  miracles, — great  signs. 
The  entire  history  of  the  apostate  Ro- 
man Catholic  church  is  a  comment  upon 
this  phrase  :  their  thousands  of  professed 
miracles  locate  this  part  of  the  prophecy 
upon  them. 

But  let  us  not  suppose  that  the  beast 
has  power  to  work  miracles  or  great 
signs,  so  as  to  make  fire  come  down 
from  heaven  in  reality.  He  practises 
these  signs,  (iW)  in  order  that,  to  the 
end  that,  he  may  even  make  fire  come 
down.  His  success  in  bringing  it  down 
is  quite  a  different  thing,  from  his  suc- 
cess in  deceiving  men  into  the  belief 
that  he  does  it. 

3.  For  we  note  again,  that  he  is  a 
deceiver  of  mankind.     This  is  one  of 


the  characteristics  of  Antichrist,  as  Paul 
describes  him  in  2  Thess.  ii.  3-10 : 
"  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of 
Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs  and 
lying  wonders  ;  and  with  all  deceivable- 
ness  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that 
perish  ;  because  they  received  not  the 
love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be 
saved." 

4.  His  next  practice  results  in  the 
creation  of  an  image  of  the  beast.  This 
ecclesiastical  beast  so  manages  to  influ- 
ence the  dwellers  in  the  Roman  world, 
that  they  make  an  image  of  the  secular 
beast. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  image,  it 
will  be  best  to  settle  the  question  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  two  lamb-like  horns. 
The  beast,  we  have  said,  is  the  universal 
ecclesiastical  empire,  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic church.  It  must  be  distinguished 
from  the  Roman  civil  despotism.  It 
must  also  be  distinguished  from  the 
clergy,  from  the  Pope,  and  from  the 
Papal  office.  It  is  that  vast  body  of 
laymen  and  ecclesiastics,  monks,  nuns, 
bishops,  priests, — all  bound  together  by 
a  system  of  rules  and  laws,  which  con- 
stitute them  into  one  politico-ecclesiastic 
empire.  This  huge  fabric  embraces  all 
the  above-named  classes.  It  is  a  stu- 
pendous power,  which  lays  hold  of  the 
conscience,  by  its  overwhelming  influ- 
ence, through  the  very  conception  of  its 
magnitude.  It  strikes  the  soul  of  man 
with  a  kind  of  trembling  dread.  In 
view  of  its  tremendous  force,  he  feels 
unwilling  to  think  for  himself;  his  spirit 
quails,  and  his  understanding  and  heart 
bow. 

He  is  commanded  to  think  as  the 
church  thinks ;  and  to  believe  as  the 
church  believes.  She  claims  dominion 
over  his  faith,  and  dictates  the  terms  on 
which  she  will  admit  him  to  heavenly 
glory.  To  doubt  her  infallibility  is 
heresy  ;  to  refuse  submission,  is  damna- 
tion. This  is  the  beast  of  the  sea,  having 
the  horns  of  a  lamb,  and  the  mouth  of  a 
dragon. 

As  to  the  two  horns,  we  think  Bishop 
Newton,  Bishop  Faber,  Doctor  M'Leod, 
and  others,  have  given  the  correct  inter- 
pretation.   They  are  the  two  great  bodies 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


215 


of  the  Romish  clergy  ;  the  Regulars  and 
the  Seculars. 

The  former  class  are  called  Regulars, 
from  their  habit  of  living  under  certain  pe- 
culiar systems  of  rules, — regidce,  which 
they  have  framed  for  themselves.  They 
include  the  vast  legions  of  the  monastic 
orders,  or  the  Monks.  In  order  to  un- 
derstand the  matter  we  must  take  a 
glance  at, 

MONASTICISM. 

This  form  of  superstition  may  be 
traced  as  far  back  as  Origen,  in  the 
third  century.  He  was  a  very  learned 
man  of  Alexandria,  and  much  addicted 
to  the  Platonic  philosophy.  We  should 
probably  not  slander  him  by  the  aver- 
ment, that  he  was  the  most  successful 
corrupter  of  Christianity  that  ever  ap- 
peared in  the  church,  and  yet  he  was 
not  generally  accounted  a  heretic.  Ori- 
gen did  for,  rather  against  Christianity, 
what  the  thousand  and  one  German  phi- 
losophers of  our  day  are  labouring  to 
accomplish.  He  introduced  into  it  a  mys- 
ticism which  obscured  what  was  plain  ; 
and  hid  what  before  was  somewhat 
obscure.  "  The  divine  reason"  of  Plato 
is  probably  in  its  results  about  the  same 
with  the  pantheism  of  the  present  Ger- 
man mystics.  Origen  gave  an  impulse 
to  this  mystical  philosophy,  and  also, 
from  the  apprehension  that  all  evil 
sprang  from  matter,  encouraged  its  mor- 
tification by  penances  and  self-inflicted 
macerations  of  the  flesh.  This  literal 
mortification  of  the  flesh,  led  speedily  to 
a  life  of  retirement,  self-denial,  and  star- 
vation, under  pretence  of  keeping  under 
the  body. 

Among  these  early  hermits,  one  Paul 
became  much  celebrated.  He  retired 
into  the  deserts  of  Thebais,  in  Egypt, 
and  lived  for  ninety  years,  much  like  a 
wild  beast,  only  very  religiously.  His 
fame  was  trumpeted  over  the  world,  and 
operated  wonderfully  upon  the  self-right- 
eous spirit  of  man,  and  induced  numbers 
to  flee  to  the  deserts  to  seek  celebrity. 
By  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
these  had  multiplied  so  far  that  one  of 
their  number,  named  Anthony,  conceived 


the  idea  of  collecting  them  together,  and 
organizing  a  society  of  monks  :  a  phrase 
containing  a  contradiction,  as  the  word 
monk  signifies  alone.  Anthony  pre- 
pared a  system  of  very  strict  rules  of 
austerity,  and  organized  his  monastery 
in  Egypt ;  and  thus  began  the  regular 
orders,  (Mosh.  i.  290.)  Similar  bodies 
were  speedily  formed  in  Palestine,  Meso- 
potamia, and  all  the  East  and  West 
also,  under  various  names,  and  with 
various  modifications  of  the  Regulae. 
There  were  the  Coenobites,  the  Eremites 
or  hermits,  the  Anchorites,  the  Sarabites, 
and  many  others. 

That  Satan  was  at  the  foundation  of 
all  this,  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe  :  and 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  collec- 
tions of  female  recluses  would  be  called 
for.  If  one  sex  draw  off,  it  were  a  phe- 
nomenon inexplicable  in  human  philoso- 
phy, if  the  other  would  not  do  the  same. 
Accordingly,  nunneries  sprang  up  over 
Egypt  and  the  world.  The  corruptions 
followed  which  Diabolus  intended. 

Monks  who  acquired  reputations  for 
learning  and  piety,  were  often  selected 
as  bishops.  And  as  congregations  in  the 
cities  and  large  towns  became  wealthy 
and  numerous,  and  their  pastors,  of 
course,  acquired  influence  and  fame, 
these  charges  became  objects  of  attrac- 
tion ;  and  where  the  spirit  of  piety  had 
declined,  of  unholy  ambition.  For  such 
posts  of  honour,  the  monks  were  often 
successful  competitors.  The  various 
monasteries  and  their  inmates  were  sub- 
ject to  the  spiritual  authorities  of  the 
districts  where  they  resided. 

But  about  the  beginning-of  the  seventh 
century  a  change  took  place.  "  The 
progress  of  vice  among  the  subordinate 
rulers  and  ministers  of  the  church  was, 
at  this  time,  truly  deplorable :  neither 
bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  nor  even 
the  cloistered  monks,  were  exempt  from 
the  general  contagion,  as  appears  from 
the  unanimous  confession  of  all  the  wri- 
ters of  this  century  that  are  worthy  of 
credit.  In  those  very  places  that  were 
consecrated  to  piety  and  the  service  of 
God,  there  was  little  else  to  be  seen 
than  ghostly  ambition,  insatiable  avarice, 
pious   frauds,   intolerable    pride,   and    u 


216 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


supercilious  contempt  of  the  natural 
rights  of  the  people,  with  many  other 
vices  still  moz'e  enormous.  There  reign- 
ed also  in  many  places  the  most  bitter 
dissensions  between  the  bishops  and 
monks.  The  former  had  employed  the 
gi-eedy  hands  of  the  latter  to  augment 
the  episcopal  treasure,  and  to  dz*aw  con- 
tributions from  all  parts  to  support  them 
in  their  luxury,  and  the  indulgence  of 
their  lusts.  The  monks  perceiving  this, 
and  also  unwilling  to  serve  the  bishops 
in  such  a  dishonourable  character,  fled 
for  z'efuge  to  the  emperors  and  princes 
under  whose  civil  jurisdiction  they  lived; 
and  afterwards,  for  their  further  security, 
had  recourse  to  the  protection  of  the  Ro- 
man Pontiff".  This  protection  they  rea- 
dily obtained  ;  and  the  imperious  pon- 
tiffs, always  fond  of  exerting  their  au- 
thority, exempted,  by  degrees,  the  mo- 
nastic oi'dei's  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
bishops.  The  monks,  in  return  for  this 
important  service,  devoted  themselves 
wholly  to  advance  the  intez'ests  and  to 
maintain  the  dignity  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome.  They  made  his  cause  their  own, 
and  repi'esented  him  as  a  sort  of  god  to 
the  ignorant  multitude,  over  whom  they 
had  gained  a  prodigious  ascendant,  by 
the  notion  that  generally  prevailed  of 
the  sanctity  of  the  monastic  order." 
(Mosh.  i.  453.) 

For  six  hundred  yeaz-s  these  inde- 
pendent orders  and  establishments  flou- 
rished  in  wealth  and  influence,  religious 
and  political.  Many  of  them  were  called, 
by  kings  and  eznperors,  to  the  highest 
offices  of  state.  Their  power  was,  at. 
various  periods,  absolute,  both  in  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  affairs.  In  the  former 
part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  old 
existing  orders  had  become  peculiarly 
indolent,  and  excessively  vicious  and 
licentious ;  as  indeed  they  had  been, 
with  little  interruption,  from  the  begin- 
ning. Hence  their  efficiency  was  dimi- 
nished. There  was  a  necessity  of  new 
instruments  to  crush  the  witnesses,  and 
therefore  the  four  new  orders  of  the  beg- 
ging brethren,  or  mendicant  friars,  were 
instituted.  This  word  friar  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  Latin  Jraires,  by  which 
the  new  orders  were  called.     Many  of 


these  were  chartered  and  encouraged  by 
Pope  Innocent  III.  in  1215 ;  but  they 
increased  so  fast  that  the  land  was  in 
danger  of  being  beggared  by  them. 
Gregory  X.,  therefoz'e,  by  the  agency  of 
the  Council  of  Lyons,  in  1572,  limited 
them  to  four :  the  Carmelites,  the  Her- 
mits of  St.  Augustine,  the  Franciscans, 
and  the  Dominicans.  (See  Mosheim,  ii. 
368,  369.) 

The  two  last  mentioned  took  the  lead  ; 
and  by  their  vow  of  absolute  poverty, 
and  a  sanctimonious  display  of  their 
piety  and  devotion,  became  exceedingly 
popular.  "  The  power  of  the  Doznini- 
cans  and  Franciscans  surpassed  greatly 
that  of  the  other  two  ordez's,  and  ren- 
dered them  singularly  conspicuous  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  During  thz'ee 
centuries  these  two  fraternities  governed, 
with  almost  univez'sal  and  absolute  sway, 
both  state  and  church,  filled  the  most 
eminent  posts,  ecclesiastical  and  civil, 
taught  in  the  universities  and  churches, 
with  an  authority  before  which  all  oppo- 
sition was  silent,  and  maintained  the 
pz'etended  majesty  and  prerogatives  of 
the  Roman  Pontiffs,  against  kings, 
princes,  bishops,  and  hez'etics,  with  in- 
credible ardour,  and  equal  success.  The 
Dominicans  and  Fz'anciscans  were  be- 
fore the  Reformation  what  the  Jesuits 
have  been  since  that  happy  and  glorious 
period,  the  very  soul  of  the  hierarchy, 
the  engines  of  the  state,  the  secret  springs 
of  all  the  motions  of  the  one,  and  the 
other,  and  the  authors  or  directors  of 
evez-y  gi*eat  and  important  event,  both 
izz  the  religious  and  political  world." 
"  These  two  celebrated  orders  z'estored 
the  [Roman]  church  from  that  declining 
condition  in  which  it  had  been  languish- 
ing for  many  yeaz's,  by  the  zeal  and 
activity  with  which  they  set  themselves 
to  discover  and  extirpate  heretics  [true 
Christians],  to  undertake  various  nego- 
tiations and  embassies  for  the  interests 
of  the  hierarchy ;  and  to  confirm  the 
wavering  multitude  in  their  obedience  to 
the  Roman  Pontiff."  (Mosh.  ii.  370, 
373.) 

These  orders  failed  and  became  inef- 
ficient about  the  time  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation,  and   the   Pope,  in    1540, 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


217 


chartered  another  secret  society  for  the 
same  general  purpose,  under  the  name 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  or  the  Jesuits, 
whose  origin  and  character  have  already 
been  described. 

Thus  we  have  found  one  horn  of  the 
lion-mouthed  lamb;  a  powerful  instru- 
ment of  corruption  and  oppression.  It 
existed,  it  will  be  borne  in  mind,  cotem- 
poraneously  with  the  beast,  although  it 
did  not  develope  itself  for  some  consi- 
derable time,  so  as  to  attract  attention. 
This  was  true  of  the  beast  himself. 
Monks  and  nuns, — for  the  two  are  ne- 
cessary to  complete  the  system  of  moral 
pollution — flooded  the  east,  and  were  also 
very  numerous  in  the  western  or  Latin 
church,  before  it  raised  itself  up  from 
the  earth  in  its  bestial  character,  in  606. 
Not  long  after  this,  the  pontiffs  made 
them  independent  of  the  bishops,  as  the 
Emperor  Justinian  had  before  exempted 
both  from  civil  liabilities  in  some  respects, 
and  their  property  from  taxation,  and 
thus  the  right  horn  protruded  from  the 
monster's  head.  All  these  orders  were 
dependent  on  the  Pontiff*  alone,  and  were 
sworn  to  implicit  obedience  and  subser- 
viency to  the  Roman  See.  Many  of  the 
most  conspicuous  men  in  Europe  were 
the  abbots,  abbes  or  brothers,  as  the 
word  signifies,  of  the  monasteries,  heads 
of  the  various  chapters  of  religious  de- 
votees. By  virtue  of  their  immense 
landed  estates  in  England,  they  were 
admitted  to  seats  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
This  continued  from  the  seventh  century 
until  Henry  VIII.  crippled  the  abbots 
by  confiscating  their  estates  and  expel- 
ling them  from  the  House. 

The  other  horn  of  this  leonine  lamb, 
the  secular  clergy,  grew  up  also  gradu- 
ally. In  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
all  presbyters  were  of  equal  authority 
to  rule  in  the  Church,  and  those  who 
in  addition  to  ruling,  preached  also,  and 
spent  all  their  time  in  looking  after  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  people,  were 
called,  for  distinction's  sake,  overseers 
or  bishops,  and  among  these  also,  there 
was  perfect  equality.  (Acts  xx.  28.) 
When,  however,  congregations,  especial- 
ly in  the  chief  towns,  became  large  and 
wealthy,  these  overseers  acquired  very 

28  ' 


naturally  a  degree  of  influence  propor- 
tionate to  that  of  their  churches,  and 
thus  the  pure  equality  was  practically 
disturbed.  In  our  own  day,  with  all 
our  republican  notions,  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  avoid  giving  practically,  an 
undue  influence  in  church  courts,  to  city 
pastors.  Human  nature  was  of  old  as 
it  is  now,  and  thus  to  overseers  or  bi- 
shops of  rich  city  churches,  great  defe- 
rence was  justly  and  duly  paid.  They 
were  more  frequently  than  less  learned 
and  more  obscure  country  members, 
called  to  preside  in  the  church  councils. 
Their  opinions  were  sought,  just  as  they 
are  now,  in  difficult  cases,  and  had 
greater  weight,  as  is  just,  than  those 
of  less  prominent  and  learned  brethren. 
All  this  was  natural  and  right.  But 
when  piety  and  humility  declined,  as  it 
always  does  in  city  churches,  first,  be- 
cause of  the  corrupting  nature  of  wealth 
upon  the  heart  of  man,  then  these  influ- 
ences and  this  actual  power  began  to  be 
assumed,  and  finally  claimed  by  the  bi- 
shops of  the  large  towns.  The  first 
obvious  and  decided  step  here  was  the 
choosing  of  permanent  moderators  or 
presidents  of  their  church  courts.  This, 
conceded  for  a  while  by  the  other  mem- 
bers to  the  city  overseers,  was  gradually 
claimed  as  a  right. 

Such  is  the  origin  of  diocesan  epis- 
copacy. Even  as  late  as  A.  D.  530, 
when  the  Arian  heresy  raged  in  Africa, 
and  the  parties  were  almost  equally 
divided,  the  Vandal  king,  Hunneric, 
assembled  at  Carthage  a  council  of 
orthodox  bishops,  to  the  number  of  four 
hundred  and  sixty-six,  to  dispute  with 
the  Arians.  (See  Gibbon,  chap,  xxxvii., 
who  refers  to  Victor  for  a  list  of  their 
names.)  There  must  therefore,  at  that 
time,  have  been  more  than  nine  hundred 
bishops  in  Africa.  Could  these  have 
been  what  is  now  meant  by  a  bishop,  in 
the  high  church  sense  of  the  term  1 

A  similar  strife  for  the  pre-eminence 
among  the  city  bishops  very  naturally 
followed.  And  as  Rome  and  Constan- 
tinople were  the  two  great  cities  of  the 
Roman  world,  the  overseers  who  in 
them  had  gained  the  ascendancy,  were 
for   the   sake   of  distinction    called    pa- 


218 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


triarchs  ;  and  the  contest  between  them 
and  all  others  ceased  by  a  universal 
concession  of  their  superiority.  Still 
between  these  two  it  continued,  and 
was  carried  on  with  great  bitterness  ; 
until  at  length  the  question  was  settled 
by  Phocas  in  favour  of  Rome.  John, 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  had  pre- 
viously arrogated  the  title  of  Universal 
Bishop.  This  gave  great  umbrage  to 
Gregory  the  Great,  Bishop  of  Rome, 
who  wrote  to  the  Emperor  Maurice,  se- 
verely censuring  John,  and  requesting 
the  emperor  to  punish  or  restrain  his 
pride.  "  And  therefore  I  am  bold  to 
say,"  he  remarks,  "  that  whosoever 
adopts  or  affects  the  title  of  Universal 
Bishop,  has  the  pride  and  character  of 
Antichrist,  and  is  in  some  manner  his 
forerunner  in  this  haughty  quality  of 
elevating  himself  above  the  rest  of  his 
order.  And  indeed,  both  the  one  and 
the  other  seem  to  split  upon  the  same 
rock ;  for,  as  pride  makes  Antichrist 
strain  his  pretensions  up  to  Godhead,  so 
whoever  is  ambitious  to  be  called  the 
only  Universal  Prelate,  arrogates  to  him- 
self a  distinguished  superiority,  and  rises, 
as  it  were,  upon  the  ruins  of  the  rest." 
(Jones's  Church  Hist.  i.  220.) 

Thus  we  see  how  the  very  same  pro- 
cess of  gradual  assumption  on  the  one 
hand,  and  concession  on  the  other,  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Papal 
supremacy,  at  the  same  time  furnished 
to  the  ecclesiastical  beast  his  other  horn, 
the  secular  clergy.  That  is,  it  resulted 
in  such  a  regular  subordination  of  powers 
to  each  other,  as  rendered  them  in  the 
hand  of  ambition,  an  effectual  instru- 
ment of  tyranny.  The  people  are  sub- 
ject to  presbyters  of  their  own  choice. 
This  is  the  primitive  arrangement.  But 
now  these  presbyters  are  subordinated, 
not  as  in  the  Bible  form  of  government, 
to  the  presbytery,  but  to  the  bishop ;  the 
bishop  to  the  archbishop,  and  the  arch- 
bishop to  the  Pope. 

Thus  this  vast  ecclesiastical  monarchy 
is  furnished  with  two  most  efficient  sys- 
tems of  agency  ;  independent,  of  each 
other,  and  both  independent  of  the  civil 
government,  as  to  the  persons  of  their 
officers  and  the  property  of  their  respec- 


tive bodies  :  but  both  dependent  upon  the 
dictation  of  the  supreme  head  of  the 
church.  And  mightily  did  these  instru- 
ments of  oppression  and  of  power  work. 
Often  did  men  of  these  classes,  profess- 
ing the  mild  religion  of  the  Lamb,  act 
out  all  the  wily  and  venomous  policy  of 
the  serpent,  and  all  the  ferocity  of  the 
lion.  We  need  only  refer  to  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  at  once  the  servant  and  mas- 
ter of  Louis  XIII.  and  of  France ;  to 
Cardinal  Mazarine,  who  long  governed 
his  country  and  his  king,  —  whose 
counsels  dealt  such  havoc  to  the  Hugue- 
nots and  Waldenses ;  to  De  Retz,  and 
Ximenes,  and  Wolsey.  Do  not  these  ec- 
clesiastics, and  hundreds  of  others,  stand 
out  upon  the  page  of  history  as  great 
plotters  of  wily  and  wicked  policy  ? 
What  nation  in  Europe  has  not  been 
made  to  feel  the  goadings  of  these  horns 
*of  the  leonine  lamb  ? 

Illustrating  the  craft  of  Rome  in  work- 
ing by  means  of  these  two  horns,  Bishop 
Faber  remarks :  "  Well  knowing  the 
truth  of  the  maxim  '  divide  and  rule,'  the 
artful  pontiffs  dexterously  contrived  to 
play  off  owe  kingdom  against  the  other; 
to  govern  the  secular  clergy  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  regular.  'Whenever 
any  bishop,'  says  Puffendorff, '  attempted 
any  thing  against  the  Pope's  authority, 
the  mendicant  friars,  with  their  clamours 
and  noise,  pursued  him  every  where, 
like  so  many  hounds,  and  rendered  him 
odious  to  the  common  people,  amongst 
whom  they  were  in  great  veneration 
through  their  outward  appearance  of 
holiness ;  and  from  thence  it  came  to 
pass  that  the  bishops  who  opposed  the 
Pope's  authority,  never  could  make  a 
great  party  among  the  people.  Besides 
this,  the  friars  always  kept  a  watchful 
eye  over  the  actions  of  the  bishops,  giv- 
ing continual  advices  concerning  them 
to  their  generals  residing  at  Rome : 
whereby  the  Popes  were  enabled  to  op- 
pose timely  any  design  intended  against 
their  authority."'"  (ii.  152.) 

And  such  precisely  at  this  day  is  the 
use  made  of  the  Jesuit  order  of  Regulars, 
as  we  have  more  than  once  intimated. 
Thus  much  for  the  two-horned  beast  of 
the  sea,  and  his  deceitful  practice.     The 


LECTURE  XXV. 


219 


other  points  will  form  matter  of  conside- 
ration for  the  succeeding  lecture. 


LECTURE  XXV. 

THE  TWO-HORDED  BEAST  OF  THE  EARTH, 
CONTINUED. 

Rev.  xiii.  14,  15,  1G. 

Verse  14:  "And  he  deceiveth  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth,  by  the  means  of 
those  miracles  which  he  had  power  to  do 
in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that  they  should 
make  an  image  to  the  beast  which  had 
the  wound  by  a  sword  and  did  live.  And 
he  had  power  to  give  life  unto  the  image 
of  the  beast,  that  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  both  speak,  and  cause  that  as 
many  as  would  not  worship  the  image 
of  the  beast,  should  be  killed." 

The  first  question  that  arises  here,  is 
as  to  which  beast  allusion  is  made.  Is 
it  an  image  or  likeness  to  the  two-horned 
beast  of  the  earth  or  the  ten-horned 
beast  of  the  sea  that  is  intended  ?  A 
careful  inspection  of  the  context  will 
enable  any  one  to  answer  this  question. 
For  it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance,  that  it  is 
the  two-horned  beast,  that  so  deceives 
the  inhabiters  of  the  earth,  as  to  induce 
them  to  make  this  image  for  the  beast 
that  had  the  wound  by  a  sword  and  did 
live.  Through  his  lying  wonders  he 
deceives  and  entraps  the  people  to  rear 
up  a  system  similar  to  the  secular  beast, 
or  civil  Roman  despotism. 

But  secondly,  the  form  which  this  image 
shall  possess  is  that  of  the  wounded  head ; 
which,  we  have  seen,  is  the  Imperial. 
The  image,  therefore,  must  be  such  a 
form  of  power  as  to  resemble  the  Impe- 
rial. That  it  could  be  another  supreme 
civil  emperor  or  king,  cannot  reasonably 
be  supposed,  from  the  impossibility  of 
two  such  existing  in  the  same  empire. 

Bishop  Faber  thinks,  that  the  idol- 
worship  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
is  intended  ;  that  the  various  images  of 
their  superstition,  is  the  image  made  to 
ox  for  the  beast.     Two  objections  appear 


to  us,  unanswerable  against  this.  These 
images  are  not  representations  of  the 
beast,  but  are  like  innumerable  other 
things,  and  are  indeed  more  directly 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  two- 
horned,  than  of  the  ten-horned  beast. 
But  again,  this  is  taking  the  words  in  a 
literal  and  plain  sense  ;  whereas  they 
ought  to  be  understood  figuratively,  as 
all  the  other  terms  of  the  context  are. 
The  sea,  the  earth,  the  beasts,  the  dra- 
gon, every  thing  is  symbolically  under- 
stood ;  so  also  should  the  image  be.  It 
must  be  the  likeness  of  a  universal  mo- 
narchical head,  and  as  above  stated,  it 
cannot  be  a  civil  head.  Hence  we  agree 
with  Bishop  Newton,  Dr.  McLeod,  and 
others,  that,  "  This  image  is  the  Papacy. 
The  Pope  of  Rome  is  the  most  striking 
representation  of  the  old  Roman  empe- 
rors, that  can  be  conceived  by  the  ima- 
gination of  man.  He  is  the  common 
centre  and  cement  which  unites  all  the 
distinct  kingdoms  of  the  empire  ;  and  by 
joining  them,  procures  them  a  blind  obe- 
dience from  their  subjects."  (Whiston.) 
"  He  is  the  principle  of  unity,"  says 
Bishop  Newton,  meaning,  as  we  sup- 
pose, the  spiritual  officer,  not  the  man 
but  the  Pope, — "  he  is  the  principle  of 
unity  to  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the  beast, 
and  causeth,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  all 
who  will  not  acknowledge  his  supre- 
macy, to  be  put  to  death.  In  short  he 
is  the  most  perfect  likeness  and  resem- 
blance of  the  ancient  Roman  emperors  ; 
is  as  great  a  tyrant  in  the  Christian 
world,  as  they  were  in  the  heathen 
world;  presides  in  the  same  city;  usurps 
the  same  powers ;  affects  the  same  titles  ; 
requires  the  same  universal  homage  and 
adoration.  So  that  this  prophecy  de- 
scends more  and  more  into  particulars, 
from  the  Roman  state  or  ten  kingdoms, 
to  the  Roman  church  or  clergy,  in  par- 
ticular, and  still  more  particularly  to  the 
person  of  the  Pope" 

Nor  was  this  extended  system  of  or- 
ganization and  of  dependence  part  upon 
part,  and  ultimating  in  a  perfect  concen- 
tration of  power  in  the  spiritual  head  at 
Rome,  a  mere  fancy  speculation,  a  dead 
form,  an  abstract  theory.  The  image 
of  the  beast  was  not,  as  some  monarchs 


220 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


in  Europe  are  gradually  becoming,  mere 
automatons,  lifeless  forms  moved  by  an 
influence  not  their  own.  The  spiritual 
empire  had  power  to  give  it  life,  and  ex- 
erted that  power.  The  energies  of  the 
whole  spiritual  empire,  embracing  the 
entire  body  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  especially  and  particularly, 
the  two  orders  of  clergy,  were  placed 
under  the  actual  control  and  direction  of 
the  Pope ;  so  that  this  emperorship  be- 
came as  real  and  energetical  a  govern- 
ment as  the  civil  emperorship.  And  as 
the  civil  emperor  required  implicit  obe- 
dience upon  pain  of  death,  so  does  the 
spiritual  despot:  disobedience  to  the  Pope 
infers  death. 

Now,  that  such  a  power  was  actual 
and  not  merely  theoretical,  the  history 
of  a  thousand  years  most  mournfully 
testifies.  Our  difficulty,  when  we  turn 
the  pages  of  history  for  facts  illustrative 
of  this  characteristic  of  the  spiritual  head, 
is  to  select  from  the  records  of  blood  and 
butchery  :  so  terrible  and  so  numerous 
have  been  the  massacres  ordered  and 
enforced  by  Papal  authority.  Let  us 
turn  our  eyes  upon  the  Alpine  regions 
of  Europe.  No  fact  is  better  known, 
than  that  Christianity  took  possession  of 
many  valleys  upon  the  upper  regions  of 
the  Po,  the  Rhone,  and  their  countless 
tributaries,  which  pour  down  from  these 
vast  mountain  piles.  In  these  peaceful 
vales  and  retired  glens,  the  pure  worship- 
pers of  the  true  God,  found  for  a  long 
time,  exemption  from  many  of  the  trials 
and  afflictions  which  others  experienced. 
Especially  on  the  Italian  side  had  Claude, 
Bishop  of  Turin,  watched  over  the  flocks 
of  God  in  the  vales  of  Piedmont  and  pre- 
pared them  for  the  slaughter.  When  per- 
secution raged,  they  crept  up  the  deep  ra- 
vines and  narrow  dells,  into  which  a  regu- 
lar army  could  not  march,  and  made  their 
dwellings  among  the  rocks  and  worship- 
ped God  in  the  caves  of  the  mountains. 
Again,  after  the  storm  abated,  they 
would  descend  and  occupy  the  lower 
valleys,  and  migrate  to  neighbouring- 
cities  and  provinces.  Their  success  in 
spreading  the  leaven  of  the  kingdom, 
soon  called  up  the  activity  of  their  foes. 
"  A   new  order  of  holy  war  was  pro- 


claimed. And,  by  the  authority  of  the 
Pope,  (says  Sismondi,  in  his  History  of 
the  Crusades,  p.  24,)  the  monks  of  Ci- 
teaux,  with  a  zeal  outstripping  that  of 
Peter  the  hermit,  the  great  preacher  of 
the  Palestine  war,  proclaimed  a  crusade 
against  the  Albigenses.  In  the  year 
120S,  in  the  name  of  the  Pope,  and  of 
the  apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  they 
promised  to  all  who  should  perish  in  this 
holy  expedition,  plenary  absolution  from 
all  sins  committed  from  the  day  of  their 
birth,  to  that  of  their  death."  A  cam- 
paign of  forty  days  in  so  holy  a  cause, 
was  reckoned,  by  Papal  infallibility, 
merit  enough  to  secure  eternal  salvation. 
"Bull  after  bull  was  fulminated  from  the 
court  of  Rome,  and  never  had  the  cross 
been  taken  up  with  a  more  unanimous 
consent."  "  The  preaching  of  a  crusade 
against  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  was 
combined  with  the  invention  and  active 
agency  of  the  Inquisition,  in  wearing 
them  out.  While  one  class  of  monks 
preached  in  every  church  a  war  of  ex- 
termination, year  after  year,  another, 
with  Father  Dominic  at  their  head, 
searched  out  in  every  village,  the  vic- 
tims of  Papal  tyranny ;  and  the  fires  of 
the  Inquisition  were  added  to  all  the  hor- 
rors of  a  war,  of  which  the  barbarous 
atrocity  never  was  exceeded.  While 
the  Bernardines  were  recruiting  soldiers 
for  the  cross,  Pope  Innocent  III.  charged 
a  new  congregation,  (at  the  head  of  which 
he  placed  the  Spaniard,  Saint  Dominic,) 
to  go  on  foot,  two  by  two,  through  the 
villages,  to  preach  the  faith  in  the  midst 
of  them,  to  enlighten  them  by  controver- 
sional  discussions,  to  display  to  them  all 
the  zeal  of  Christian  charity,  and  to  ob- 
tain from  their  confidence  exact  informa- 
tion as  to  the  number  and  dwellings  of 
those  who  had  wandered  from  the  church, 
in  order  to  burn  them  when  the  oppor- 
tunity should  arrive.  Thus  began  the 
order  of  the  preaching  brethren  of  St. 
Dominic,  or  of  the  Inquisitors."  Again, 
"  As  the  crusade  approached,  the  Bishop 
of  Beziers,  (a  city  in  the  south  of  France,) 
delivered  to  the  legate  of  the  Pope  a  list 
of  those  among  his  flock  whom  he  sus- 
pected of  heresy,  and  wished  to  see  con- 
signed to  the  flames.     The  citizens  re- 


LECTURE  XXV. 


221 


fused  to  surrender  them  to  the  avengers 
of  the  faith,  notwithstanding  that  the 
assemblage  of  the  tents  and  pavilions  of 
the  crusaders  was  so  great,  that  it  appear- 
ed as  if  the  world  was  collected  there. 
All  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  had 
taken  refuge  in  Beziers.  The  city  was 
taken.  The  immense  multitudes  were 
massacred  in  the  churches,  whither  they 
had  fled ;  seven  thousand  dead  bodies 
were  counted  in  that  of  the  Magdalen 
alone.  When  the  crusaders  had  mas- 
sacred the  last  living  thing  in  Beziers, 
and  pillaged  the  houses  of  all  that  they 
had  thought  worth  carrying  off*,  they  set 
fire  to  the  city  in  every  part  at  once,  and 
reduced  it  to  a  vast  funeral  pile.  Not  a 
house  remained  standing,  not  one  human 
being  alive.  Historians  differ  as  to  the 
number  of  the  victims.  The  Abbot  of 
Citeaux,  feeling  some  shame  for  the 
butchery  which  he  had  ordered,  in  his 
letter  to  Innocent  III.,  reduces  it  to  fifteen 
thousand ;  others  make  it  amount  to  sixty. 
The  legate  was  profoundly  penetrated 
with  the  maxim  of  Innocent  III.,  "  that 
to  keep  the  faith  with  those  that  have  it 
not,  is  an  offence  against  faith."  (Sis- 
mondi,  22,  25,  34,  37.) 

"  In  the  siege  and  assault  of  Lavaur, 
the  bishops,  the  abbots  of  Cordieu,  who 
exercised  the  functions  of  vice-legates, 
and  all  the  priests,  clothed  with  their 
pontifical  habits,  giving  themselves  up 
to  the  joy  of  seeing  the  carnage  begin, 
sang  the  hymn,  Vcni  Creator.  The 
knights  mounted  the  breach.  Resistance 
was  impossible  ;  and  the  only  care  of 
Simon  de  Montfort  was  to  prevent  the 
crusaders  from  instantly  falling  upon 
the  inhabitants,  and  to  beseech  them 
rather  to  make  prisoners,  that  the  priests 
of  the  living  God  might  not  be  de]rrivcd 
of  their  j)romised  joys.  Our  pilgrims, 
(meaning  the  crusaders)  continues  the 
monk  of  Vaux  Cernay,  collected  the 
innumerable  heretics  that  the  castle 
contained,  and  burned  them  alive  with 
the  idmost  joy.  The  castle  of  Mont- 
joyre  was  abandoned,  but  burned  by  the 
crusaders.  The  castle  of  Cassero  af- 
forded them  more  satisfaction,  as  it  fur- 
nished human  victims  for  their  sacrifices. 
It  was  surrendered  on  capitulation;  and 


the  pilgrims,  seizing  nearly  sixty  here, 
tics,  burned  them  with  infinite  joy.  This 
was  always  the  phrase  employed  by  the 
monk  who  was  the  witness  and  the 
panegyrist  of  the  crusade."  (Sismondi, 
76-76.) 

"  One  of  the  articles  of  the  capitula- 
tion of  the  castle  of  Minerva,  provided 
that  the  heretics  themselves,  if  they  were 
converted,  might  quit  the  castle  and 
have  their  lives  saved.  When  the  ca- 
pitulation was  read  in  the  council  of 
war,  Robert  of  Mauvoisin,  says  the 
monk  of  Vaux  Cernay,  a  nobleman,  and 
entirely  devoted  to  the  Catholic  faith, 
cried  that  the  pilgrims  would  never  con- 
sent to  that ;  that  it  was  not  to  show 
mercy  to  the  heretics,  but  to  put  them 
to  death,  they  had  taken  up  the  cross. 
But  the  abbot  replied,  '  Fear  not,  for  I 
believe  there  will  be  very  few  converted.' 
The  legate  (the  abbot)  was  not  deceived 
in  this  bloody  hope.  The  crusaders 
took  possession  of  the  castle  of  Minerva 
on  the  22d  of  July,  1210;  they  entered 
singing  Te  Deum,  and  preceded  by  the 
cross  and  by  the  standards  of  Montfort. 
The  heretics  were  in  the  meantime  as- 
sembled, the  men  in  one  house,  the 
women  in  another, — and  there  on  their 
knees,  and  resigned  to  their  fate,  they 
prepared  themselves  by  prayer  for  the 
punishment  that  awaited  them.  The 
Abbot  Guy  de  Vaux  Cernay,  to  fulfil 
the  capitulation,  came,  and  began  to 
preach  to  them  the  Catholic  faith  ;  but 
his  auditors  interrupted  him  by  an  una- 
nimous cry ;  '  We  will  have  none  of 
your  faith,  said  they,  we  have  renounced 
the  Church  of  Rome,  you  labour  in  vain  ; 
for  neither  death  nor  life  shall  make  us 
renounce  the  opinions  we  have  em- 
braced.' The  abbot  then  passed  to  the 
assembly  of  the  women  ;  but  he  found 
them  as  resolute  arid  more  enthusiastic 
still  in  their  declarations.  The  Count 
de  Montfort,  in  his  turn,  visited  both. 
Already  he  had  piled  up  an  enormous 
mass  of  dry  wood.  'Be  converted  to 
the  Catholic  faith,'  said  he  to  the  assem- 
bled Albigcnses,  '  or  ascend  this  pile.' 
None  were  shaken.  They  set  fire  to 
the  pile,  which  covered  the  whole  square 
with  a  tremendous  conflagration.     And 


222 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  heretics  were  then  conducted  to  the 
place.  But  violence  was  not  necessary 
to  compel  them  to  enter  the  flames  ; 
they  voluntarily  precipitated  themselves 
into  them,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  forty,  after  having  commended  their 
souls  to  God,  in  whose  cause  they  suf- 
fered martyrdom,"  (64,  65.)  In  these 
wars  against  the  Albigenses,  "  the  num- 
ber of  slain,  in  France  alone,  has  been 
computed  at  a  million."  (Mede  in  Apoc. 
503.     Keith.) 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  a 
similar  demoniacal  crusade  was  waged 
against  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  in- 
habiting the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  For 
many  centuries,  these  vales  had  been 
vocal  with  the  praises  of  redeeming  love. 
"  And  the  purer,"  says  Keith,  "  that 
was  the  doctrine,  and  the  holier  the  lives 
of  the  witnesses  of  Jesus,  the  more 
surely  ivere  they  clothed  in  sackcloth, 
and  the  churchmen  of  Rome,  thirsting 
for  their  blood,  would  not  be  satisfied 
till  they  were  drunken  with  it.  The 
emissaries  of  the  Inquisition  at  first 
sought  out  their  victims,  who  were  either 
immured  in  the  dungeons  of  Turin  and 
secretly  tortured  or  publicly  executed,  to 
intimidate  heretics.  But  to  quote  the 
words  of  M.  Acland. 

"  This  was  a  process  too  slow  and 
too  partial  to  satisfy  the  unrelenting 
fury  of  the  church  of  Rome.  Bull 
after  bull,  and  army  after  army,  issued 
forth  to  the  devastation  of  the  valleys, 
the  spirit  of  which  may  be  collected 
from  the  following  specimen.  In  1447, 
(Pope)  Innocent  VIII.  having  commented 
on  the  heresies  of  the  Vaudois,  com- 
mands all  bishops,  vicars,  &c,  to  obey 
his  inquisitor,  to  render  him  assistance, 
and  to  engage  the  people  to  take  up 
arms,  with  a  view  to  so  holy  and  neces- 
sary an  extermination.  Accordingly, 
he  "ranted  indulgences  to  all  who  would 
make  a  crusade  against  the  Vaudois, 
and  full  authority  to  apply  to  their  own 
use,  whatever  property  they  could  seize. 
Animated  by  these  spiritual  and  temporal 
stimulants,  eighteen  thousand  regular 
troops,  and  six  hundred  uncommanded 
vagabonds,  burst  upon  the  valleys  ;  and 
had  not  a  feeling  of  compunction  speedily 


visited  the  sovereign,  (Philip  VII.  Duke 
of  Savoy,)  the  work  of  destruction 
would  have  been  complete."  Such  was 
the  merciless  and  more  than  fiendish 
havoc,  which  for  three  or  four  centuries 
desolated  these  valleys  and  parts  adjacent. 
"  It  were  loathsome,"  continues  Mr. 
Keith,  "  to  tell  of  children  smothered  in 
their  cradle,  or  dashed  from  the  rocks,  or 
suffocated,  together  with  their  mothers, 
in  a  cave;  of  villages  burnt  to  ashes, 
and  their  inhabitants  exterminated;  of 
women  flying  by  hundreds  from  a  blazing 
church,  and  butchered  by  a  brutal  sol- 
diery ;  or  of  the  execrations  of  an  in- 
furiated mob,  whilst  the  witnesses  of 
Jesus  were  suffering  martyrdom.  But 
such  allusions  may  here  be  needful, 
while  Piedmont  is  in  view,  that  it  may 
be  afterwards  more  clearly  seen  how 
righteous  are  the  judgments  of  God." 

About  two  hundred  years  later,  the 
same  spirit  continued  to  work  at  Rome 
and  in  Piedmont.  Terrible  was  the 
havoc  which  the  Duke  of  Savoy  perpe- 
trated among  these  innocent  and  most 
virtuous  of  his  subjects.  This  excited 
the  indignation  and  aroused  the  spirit  of 
that  great  historical  enigma,  Oliver 
Cromwell, — a  man  whose  character  will 
never  be  understood,  until  republican 
government  and  the  Christian  religion, 
as  modified  by  human  infirmity,  shall 
have  been  much  more  studied,  than  ever 
heretofore.  "  His  name,"  says  Jones, 
(see  Church  Hist.  505,)  "  was  terrible 
throughout  Europe  ;"  and  "  it  was  hard 
to  discover,"  says  Clai-endon,  "  which 
dreaded  him  most,  France,  Spain,  or  the 
Netherlands."  It  is  related  of  Cardinal 
Mazarine,  who  at  that  time  swayed  the 
councils  of  the  French  cabinet,  that  he 
would  change  countenance  at  the  very 
mention  of  Cromwell's  name;  and  it 
passed  into  a  proverb  in  France,  that 
"  Mazarine  was  not.  so  much  afraid  of 
the  devil  as  of  Oliver  Cromwell." 

This  wonderful  man  interposed.  The 
lion  shook  his  mane,  and  the  bloody 
cardinal  and  the  bloodthirsty  duke, 
trembled,  and  the  Piedmontese  Chris- 
tians enjoyed  a  respite.  John  Mil- 
ton, Cromwell's  Latin  secretary,  at 
the  Protector's  order,  wrote  to  most  or 


LECTURE  XXV. 


223 


all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  pro- 
cured the  arrest  of  this  bloody  persecu- 
tion. The  poet  also  threw  his  own  feel- 
ings into  one  of  those  energetic  rhapso- 
dies which  swell  and  carry  off  the  full 
soul  : 

"  Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose 

bones 

Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold ; 

Ev'n  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 

When  all  our  fathers  worshipped  stocks  and 

stones. 
Forget  not :  in  thy  book  record  their  groans 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese,  that  roll'd 
Mother    with  infant    down   the  rocks.     Their 

moans 
The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 
To  Heaven.    Their  martyr'd  blood  and  ashes 
sow 
O'er    all    th'    Italian    fields,   where   still    doth 
sway 
The  triple  tyrant ;  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundred  fold^  who,  having  learn'd  thy  way, 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe." 

The  allusion  to  mother  and  infant 
here  is  a  touching  case.  Sir  Samuel 
Morland,  Cromwell's  agent  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  subscriptions  and  collec- 
tions made  in  England  for  the  survivors 
of  the  Waldenses,  (which  subscriptions 
Cromwell  headed  with  two  thousand 
pounds  out  of  his  private  funds,) — who 
lived  three  years  among  these  scenes, 
wrote  a  history  of  the  persecution,  in 
which  he  says,  "  A  mother  was  hurled 
down  a  mighty  rock,  with  a  little  infant 
in  her  arms  ;  and  three  days  after  was 
found  dead,  with  the  little  child  alive, 
but  fast  clasped  between  the  arms  of  the 
dead  mother,  which  were  cold  and  stiff, 
insomuch  that  those  who  found  them 
had  much  ado  to  get  the  young  child 
out."  (Jones,  Lee.  507.)  Another  mode 
of  torment  and  death  practised  by  these 
minions  of  the  Pope,  was  to  cut  the 
head  off  the  young  infant,  and  force  the 
mother  to  apply  the  headless  babe  to 
her  breast,  in  the  position  of  a  suckling. 
Such  is  the  satanic  spirit  of  Antichrist. 

One  more  quotation  must  close  the 
evidence  of  this  spirit.  It  is  from  Hume, 
whose  Tory  sentiments  and  infidel  prin- 
ciples, will  not  warp  him  toward  the 
pure  religion.  It  is  the  celebrated  case 
of  St.  Bartholomew's  massacre  in  1572  : 


when  Charles  IX.  of  France  and  the 
Catholic  clergy  planned  and  executed 
the  murder  of  the  Huguenots.  Many  in- 
stances of  perfidious  cruelty  had  been 
practised  towards  them,  which  had  made 
their  chief  men,  among  whom  shone 
conspicuous,  the  fearless  old  Admiral 
Coligni  and  the  heroic  Prince  of  Conde, 
very  cautious  how  they  committed  them- 
selves to  their  power.  "  The  better," 
says  Hume,  "to  blind  the  jealous  Hugue- 
nots, and  draw  their  leaders  into  the 
snare  prepared  for  them,  Charles  offered 
his  sister  Margaret  in  marriage  to  the 
Prince  of  Navarre,  (a  Protestant  leader, 
afterwards  Henry  IV.  of  France,)  and 
the  Admiral  (Coligni),  with  all  the  con- 
siderable nobility  of  the  party,  had  come 
to  Paris  to  assist  at  the  celebration  of 
the  nuptials,  which,  it  was  proposed, 
would  finally,  if  not  compose  the  differ- 
ences, at  least  appease  the  bloody  ani- 
mosity of  the  two  religions.  (Mark  how 
the  arch-infidel  gives  a  blow  to  Pro- 
testant Christianity, — '  of  the  tivo  reli- 
gions :'  as  though  the  Protestants  were 
bloody  persecutors.)  The  queen  of  Na- 
varre, (the  prince's  mother,  a  decided 
Protestant,)  was  poisoned  by  orders  from 
the  court;  the  admiral  was  dangerously 
wounded  by  an  assassin :  yet  Charles, 
redoubling  his  dissimulation,  was  still 
able  to  retain  the  Huguenots  in  their  se- 
curity ;  till,  on  the  evening  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, a  Cew  days  after  the  marriage, 
a  signal  was  given  for  the  general  mas- 
sacre of  the  religionists,  and  the  king 
himself,  in  person,  led  the  way  to  these 
assassinations. 

"  The  hatred  long  entertained  by  the 
partisans  against  the  Protestants,  made 
them  second  without  any  preparation, 
the  fury  of  the  court ;  and  persons  of 
every  condition,  age,  and  sex,  suspected 
of  any  propensity  to  that  religion,  were 
involved  in  an  undistinguished  ruin.  The 
admiral,  his  son-in-law  Teligni,  Soubize, 
Rochefoucault,  Pardaillon,  Piles,  Lavar- 
din,  men  who,  during  the  late  wars,  had 
signalized  themselves  by  the  most  heroic 
actions,  were  miserably  butchered,  with- 
out resistance  ;  the  streets  of  Paris  flowed 
with  blood ;  and  the  people,  more  en- 
raged than  satisfied  with  their  cruelty, 


224 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


as  if  repining  that  death  had  saved  their 
victims  from  farther  insult,  exercised  on 
their  dead  bodies  all  the  rage  of  the  most 
licentious  brutality.  About  five  hundred 
gentlemen  and  men  of  rank  perished  in 
this  massacre,  and  near  ten  thousand 
of  inferior  condition.  Orders  were  in- 
stantly dispersed  to  all  the  provinces  for 
a  like  general  execution  of  the  Protest- 
ants ;  and  in  Rouen,  Lyons,  and  many 
other  cities,  the  people  emulated  the  fury 
of  the  capital.  Even  the  murder  of  the 
King  of  Navarre  and  Prince  of  Conde 
had  been  proposed  by  the  Duke  of 
Guise  ;  but  Charles,  softened  by  the  ami- 
able manners  of  the  King  of  Navarre, 
and  hoping  that  the  young  princes  (Con- 
de and  Navarre)  might  easily  be  con- 
verted to  the  Catholic  faith,  determined 
to  spare  their  lives,  though  he  obliged 
them  to  purchase  their  safety  by  a  seem- 
ing change  of  their  religion."  (Cook's 
edition,  vii.  191.) 

Think  of  five  hundred  of  the  bravest 
and  most  noble-hearted  men  in  France, 
men  who  had  jeopardied  their  lives  in  a 
hundred  battles  for  the  glory  of  their 
country;  think  of  ten  thousand  private 
citizens,  the  most  virtuous,  indeed  almost 
the  only  virtuous  citizens  in  it,  all  but- 
chered in  Paris  in  one  night  and  day. 
Think  of  the  spiritual  teachers,  the 
shepherds,  becoming  the  bloody  wolves 
of  the  flock.  Think  of  the  young  king 
of  a  great  nation  plotting  in  cold  blood 
the  murder  of  the  people  he  was  bound 
to  protect  and  make  happy.  Think  of 
him  enjoying,  as  an  amusement,  the 
sport  of  shooting  at  the  Protestants  as 
they  floated  down  the  river  Seine,  which 
he  did  from  a  window  of  a  brick  house, 
which  yet  stands  ;  or  at  least  did  stand 
in  1816,  and  was  shown  to  travellers  as 
a  relic  of  antiquity,  interesting  from  this 
use  of  it.  Think  of  this  hell-born  plot, 
and  its  dragon-like  execution,  atid  ask 
yourselves,  is  not  this  the  work  of  that 
old  serpent,  the  devil,  and  Satan,  who 
is  incarnate  in  the  throne  of  despotism? 

For,  let  it  not  be  said,  this  is  the  work 
of  an  ignorant  and  semi-barbarous  age, 
and  the  device  of  pagan  brutality  and  su- 
perstition. Far  from  it.  It  was  planned 
and  executed  under  the  express   direc- 


tions and  by  the  agents  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  hierarchy ;  and  the  news  of  this 
bloody  tragedy  was  received  at  Rome 
with  the  utmost  ecstasy  of  joy;  and 
Pope  Gregory  XIII.  celebrated  it  in  the 
church  of  St.  Peter's  with  great  pomp 
and  excessive  rejoicings. 

Why  should  we  delay  to  mention 
Patrick  Hamilton,  a  young  Scottish  no- 
bleman, who  was  burnt  for  heresy,  at 
the  gate  of  St.  Salvator's  College,  St. 
Andrew's  ;  or  Henry  Forrest,  who  was 
soon  after  burnt  in  the  same  city,  for 
saying  that  Patrick  Hamilton  died  a 
martyr  ;  and  whom  John  Lindsay,  who 
assisted  the  bishop  in  burning  him,  ad- 
vised that  he  should  be  burned  "  in  some 
hollow  cellar  ;  for  the  smoke,"  said  he, 
"  of  Patrick  Hamilton  hath  infected  all 
those  on  whom  it  blew  ?"  But  we  cannot 
here  write  a  book  of  martyrs.  Sufficient 
examples  have  been  advanced  to  show 
that,  as  it  was  prophesied,  the  Pope  has 
and  exercises  the  power  to  kill  all  who 
refuse  to  worship  himself,  the  image  of 
the  former  beast. 

We  proceed  to  the  mark  of  the  beast. 

Bishop  Faber  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
suppose  the  mark  to  be  the  cross  and  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  used  to  such  an  absurd 
extent  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
And  truly  enough,  these  ceremonies  from 
the  Roman  missal,  as  he  describes  them, 
are  too  contemptible  for  even  the  plays 
of  children,  or  the  mummery  of  Pagan- 
ism. 

Bishop  Faber's  apology  for  his  own 
church,  in  using,  what  he  calls  the  mark 
of  the  beast,  is,  to  our  mind,  an  exceed- 
ingly lame  one.  He  says,  "  When  our 
dissenting  brethren  censure  us  for  using 
the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  baptismal 
ceremony,  because  it  is  likewise  used  by 
the  Papists,  they  ought  to  consider  that 
the  use  of  it  is  cither  innocent  or  not  in- 
nocent, exactly  according  as  it  is  reli- 
gious or  not  religious.  It  was  only  by 
a  vain  and  cruel  abuse  of  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  that  it  became  the  mark  of  the 
beast :  had  a  circle  or  square  been 
thought  by  the  Papists  mor*e  convenient 
for  their  purpose,  either  of  those  figures 
would,  in  that  case,  have  been  as  much 
the  mark  of  the  beast  as  a  cross.     If,  in- 


LECTURE  XXV. 


225 


deed,  the  Church  of  England  either  pro- 
claimed a  crusade  against  the  dissenters, 
or  laid  any  mysterious  iveight  upon  the 
use  of  the  cross  in  baptism,  she  certainly 
would  not,  in  these  respects,  have  purified 
herself  from  the  corruptions  oithe  Pa- 
pal beast." 

But  now,  we  ask,  is  not  the  crossing 
which  Bishop  Faber  describes  from  the 
Roman  missal,  a  religious  use?  When  a 
Papist  crosses  himself  in  the  dark,  is  it 
not  a  part  of  his  religion,  as  really  as 
when  a  bishop  crosses  a  babe  at  baptism? 
But  it  is  the  "  vain  and  cruel  abuse"  of 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  that  makes  it  the 
mark  of  the  beast.  It  is  not  the  sign 
but  the  abuse,  which  constitutes  the 
mark.  Here  is  a  crucifix  suspended 
round  the  neck  of  an  Oxford  high 
churchman;  and  here  is  another,  simi- 
lar to  it,  pressed  to  the  heart  of  a  Pa- 
pist ;  will  some  astute  bishop  tell  us 
which  is  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and 
which  is  not? 

Again,  the  Bishop  says,  "She,  the 
Church  of  England,  disapproves  of  the 
endless  cruciform  evolutions  of  the  Pa- 
pists ;  but  she  can  discover  no  reason 
why  their  vain  mummeries  should  make 
it  sinful  or  superstitious  in  lier  ministers 
to  sign  a  baptized  child  with  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  in  token  that  hereafter  he  shall 
not  be  ashamed  to  confess  tlie  faith  of 
Christ  crucified.''''  But  then  our  difficulty 
lies  here.  We  cannot  see  how  the  one 
signing  of  Bishop  Faber,  differs  from  the 
numerous  signings  of  the  Papist,  except 
simply  in  number.  But  if  it  is  proper 
to  sign  once,  wherein  lies  the  sin  of 
crossing  a  dozen  of  times  ?  Does  the  repe- 
tition corrupt  the  sacred  ceremony?  Will 
Bishop  Faber  or  any  other,  explain  how 
a  gilded  cross  upon  a  Roman  Catholic 
chapel,  and  a  gilded  cross  upon  an  Epis- 
copal bishop's  dwelling  really  differ  ?  If 
the  one  is  the  mark  of  the  beast,  of  what 
is  the  other  the  mark  ? 

We  have  two  objections  to  the  use  of 
the  sign  of  the  cross  in  baptism.  It  is 
a  Popish  superstition,  as  Bishop  Faber 
allows, — if  any  mysterious  weight  were 
laid  upon  it,  it  would  be  the  mark  of  the 
beast.  Now  we  put  the  question  to  those 
whom  it  may  concern  ;  is  it  not  viewed 

29 


as  a  mystery  ?  Is  it  not  felt  to  be  of 
some  importance  ?  Would  the  people 
think  the  baptism  rightly  performed  if  it 
were  omitted?  And  as  many  who  stickle 
for  this  ceremony,  hold  to  baptismal  re- 
generation, baptismal  justification,  and  • 
baptismal  sanctification,  would  they  think 
a  person  either  sanctified,  justified,  or  re- 
generated, unless  he  had  been  crossed 
in  due  form  ? 

But  the  second  and  chief  objection  to 
this  sign  of  the  cross  is,  that  the  Bible 
nowhere  enjoins  it,  either  by  example 
or  precept.  It  is  said  of  God's  saints, 
"  these  follow  the  Lamb,  whithersoever 
he  goeth."  Did  Jesus  ever  use  the  sign 
of  the  cross  in  baptism  ?  Did  the  Lamb 
ever  command  it  to  be  done?  Did  any 
of  his  inspired  apostles,  who  baptized 
sinners  by  thousands,  ever  cross  any  of 
them ;  or  command  them  to  be  marked 
with  this  sign,  or  to  wear  it  upon  then- 
person  ?  If  so,  when,  where,  how  ? 
But  it  is  said  the  sign  of  the  cross  was 
used  long  before  A.  D.  606,  when  the 
papacy  sprang  into  Antichrist ;  it  is 
therefore  not  a  popish  superstition.  The 
fact  of  this  ceremony  existing  before  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  became  fully  developed 
into  Antichrist,  we  admit ;  but  the  infer- 
ence is  illogical :  because  nearly  all  the 
corruptions  of  papal  Rome  were  intro- 
duced gradually,  and  most  of  them  be- 
gan, and  many  of  them  had  advanced 
considerably  before  606.  There  were 
many  Antichrists  in  John's  day ;  and 
the  spirit  was  working  from  that  time 
onward.  Many  self-righteous  ceremo- 
nies existed,  and  image-worship  particu- 
larly. The  fact  that  crucifixes  were 
worn  and  the  sign  of  the  cross  practised 
in  baptism  and  on  other  occasions,  prior 
to  the  year  606,  no  more  exempts  them 
from  the  class  of  popish  superstitions, 
than  the  fact  of  image-worship  being 
practised  before,  exempts  it. 

But  after  all,  it  is  very  doubtful  whe- 
ther this  is  the  mark  of  the  beast.  The 
more  probable  opinion  is,  that  this  mark 
is  any  thing  and  every  thing  by  which 
men  are  known  to  belong  to  him.  The 
shepherd  marks  his  sheep;  the  master 
marks  his  slaves  ;  the  general  marks  his 
soldiers  and  his  camp  equipage.     The 


226 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


mark  may  be  the  initials  of  the  owner's 
name,  the  whole  name,  his  coat  of  arms, 
his  signet,  any  arbitrary  sign  by  which 
the  thing  may  be  distinguished  as  his. 
The  mark  of  the  beast  must  be  that 
characteristic,  or  those  characteristics, 
whereby  the  followers  of  Antichristian 
Rome  are  distinguished. 

The  mark  or  character,  as  the  Greek 
word  may  be  rendered,  must  be  what- 
ever points  out  them  on  whom  it  is  im- 
pressed as  members  of  the  great  system 
of  despotic  rule.     It  is  the  two-horned 
beast    of  the   earth,   that   imprints   the 
character  upon  men,  which  evinces  their 
relationship  to  the  civil  despotism,  as  its 
subjects  and  its  upholders.     Now  it  will 
be  remembered,  that  it  is  the  same  church 
that  influenced  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth 
to  make  the  image  of  the  beast,  viz.  the 
Papacy,  which  as  a  head  regulates  even 
the  ten-horned  beast  himself.     And  it  is 
by   disseminating  its   doctrines  and   its 
ceremonies,   its   rites   and    superstitions 
over  the  empire,   that   the  church  im- 
presses the  character  of  the  beast  upon 
the  mass  of  her  population.     This  far- 
ther explains  the  language  of  verse  14, 
"  they  should  make  an  image  to,  ox  for 
the  beast."     Because  in   modelling  the 
papal  power  like  to  the  imperial,  and  in 
bringing   the  nations  to   submit   to   the 
Pops's  supremacy,  they  apply  the  prin* 
ciples,  which,  carried  out,  secure  abso- 
lute  submission   to   the  civil   despotism 
also.  Thus  it  is  to  the  ten. horned  beast's 
advantage  that  the  image  is  made ;  it  is 
for  him.     Just  as  pagan  Rome  sent  the 
image  of  the  emperor  to  the  provinces, 
and  required  the  leaders  to  bow  to  it ; 
so    when    the    degraded    populace    bow 
down  at  the  feet  of  the  Pope,  the  image 
of  the  emperor,  they  acknowledge  that 
supremacy,  which  is  one  and  the  same 
in  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  empire. 
But    we   have   anticipated    the    text. 
Verses   16,   17.  "And   he  causeth   all, 
both  small  and  great,  rich  and  poor,  free 
and  bond,  to  receive  a  mark  (^aga/f^a), 
in  their  right  hand  or  in  their  foreheads  : 
and  that  no  man  might  buy  or  sell,  save 
he  that   had    the    mark,    or    the    name 
of  the   beast,   or    the   number   of    his 
name." 


Here  we  must  observe  the  phrase, 
"he  maketh  all  ;"  it  is  the  same  word 
which  in  verse  5,  is  translated,  to  con- 
tinue, and  which  we  have  seen,  means 
simplv  to  act,  or  practise.  He  practises 
upon  all,  small  and  great,  and  to  the  end 
that — ha.  (Jwtfiv — he  may  give  to  them  a 
mai-k.  The  leading  design,  and  the 
practical  operation  of  the  Romish  reli- 
gious system,  is  to  mould  all  classes  of 
citizens  into  a  certain  character,  which 
shall  subserve  oppressive  power,  and  to 
limit,  restrict,  and  confine,  all  rights  and 
privileges,  civil  and  religious,  to  such  as 
have  this  character,  and  are  thus  sub- 
servient. The  first  step  towards  giving 
them  this  character,  is  blind  submission 
to  ecclesiastical  authority.  Believe  as 
the  church  believes,  and  do  as  the  church 
commands.  Once  imbued  with  this 
spirit  of  blind  and  unconditional  sub- 
mission, the  people  can  be  led  just  as 
the  hierarchy  chooses.  This  tame  sub- 
mission is  the  supreme  Catholic  virtue. 

But  to  enforce  it,  temporal  interests 
are  also  called  in.  And  this  leads  to 
another  practice  of  the  two-horned 
beast.  He  so  practises,  "  that  no  man 
mi°ht  buy  or  sell."  The  privileges  of 
commerce  and  trade  are  prohibited  to 
all,  but  to  the  sworn  minions  and  ser- 
vants of  the  Papacy.  Thus  he  exercises 
all  the  power  of  the  first  beast  before 
him.  In  this  we  have  the  Pope's  inter- 
dict represented.  He  claims,  and  has 
often  exercised,  the  power  of  interdicting 
or  forbidding  all  intercourse  with  a  given 
individual  or  nation,  which  has  incurred 
his  displeasure:  and  in  this  case  no  other 
people  must  trade  with,  or  in  any  way 
countenance  the  interdicted  nation.  Thus 
Pope  Paul  III.,  offended  at  Henry  VIII., 
King  of  England,  because  that  monarch 
had  executed  Bishop  Fisher,  who  was 
also  a  cardinal,  upon  conviction  of  high 
treason,  first  cited  Henry  to  appear  be- 
fore himself  at  Rome,  and  answer  to  his 
holiness  for  the  horrible  sin  of  punishing 
a  Roman  Catholic  bishop  ;  or  in  failure 
of  attendance,  he  should  be  excommu- 
nicated, and  England  put  under  an  in- 
terdict. Henry  treated  the  Pope's  im- 
pertinence as  was  proper;  whereupon 
Paul  excommunicated   him  and  all  his 


LECTURE  XXV. 


227 


adhering  nobility, — "  deprived  the  king 
of  his  crown  ;  laid  the  kingdom  under 
an  interdict;  declared  his  issue  by  Anne 
Bolcyn  illegitimate;  dissolved  all  leagues 
which  any  Catholic  princes  had  made 
with  him  ;  gave  his  kingdom  to  any  in- 
vader;  commanded  the  nobility  to  take 
arms  against  him  ;  freed  his  subjects 
from  all  oaths  of  allegiance  ;  cut  off 
their  commerce  with  foreign  states ;  and 
declared  it  lawful  for  any  one  to  seize 
them,  to  make  slaves  of  their  persons, 
and  to  convert  their  effects  to  his  own 
use."  Here  is  arrogated  a  power  beyond 
that  of  any  king  ;  and  no  head  of  any 
government  in  the  world,  but  an  imperial 
one,  ever  attempted  the  exercise  of  such 
tyranny. 

His  name,  and  the  number  of  his  name. 

These  we  take  together,  for  reasons 
that  will  appear  early  in  the  discussion. 
It  has  been,  and  is  yet  customary  to  em- 
ploy the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  writing 
numbers.  The  first,  letter  of  the  Greek 
alphabet,  for  example,  stands  for  one, 
the  second  for  tico,  and  so  on.  From 
this  general  practice  arose  the  custom  of 
writing,  as  a  cipher  or  symbol  of  a  per- 
son's name,  not  the  letters  proper  in 
their  order,  but  the  numerical  letters,  or 
such  as  make  up  the  number  included 
in  the  name.  Thus,  the  number  forty- 
five  expressed  the  name  of  our  progeni- 
tor, Adam,  according  to  the  Hebrew  no- 
tation. The  number  eight  hundred  and 
eighty -eight  includes  the  name  of  our 
Saviour  in  Greek.  Now  the  number 
six  hundred  and  sixty-six,  we  are  as- 
sured in  verse  18,  contains  the  name  of 
the  beast.  "  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him 
that  hath  understanding  count  the  num- 
ber of  the  beast;  for  it  is  the  number 
of  a  man ;  and  his  number  is  six  hun- 
dred threescore  and  six." 

There  is  plain  intimation  here,  of 
some  little  difficulty  in  the  interpretation. 
It  requires  understanding  to  compute  or 
sum  up  the  numbers  so  as  to  ascertain 
the  true  name.  And  were  the  number 
alone  necessary,  it  could  present  little 
difficulty.  Many  names  might  be  se- 
lected which  Would  contain  this  number. 
But  the  prophet  defines  by  other  cha- 
racteristics the  name  intended. 


1.  It  must  be  the  name  of  a  great 
tyrannical  power,  a  universal  monarchy; 
a  beast,  whose  authority  is  exerted  by 
two  horns  chiefly. 

2.  It  must  be  the  name  of  a  people 
who  constitute  the  root  of  this  universal 
monarchy,  and  so  is  applicable  to  the 
nation. 

3.  It  must  be  the  name  of  a  man,  or 
the  number  of  a  man's  name. 

4.  It  must  contain  the  number  six 
hundred  and  sixty-six. 

In  view  of  this  text,  Papists  and  in- 
fidels, fastening  their  eyes  upon  the 
number  only,  have  amused  themselves 
and  attempted  to  decoy  others  away 
from  the  chief  characteristics :  the  for- 
mer with  this  last  view  ;  the  latter,  to 
make  this  challenged  wisdom  mere  folly, 
and  so  turn  the  Scriptures  into  ridicule. 
They  tell  us  that  the  number  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  is  found,  "  in  the 
names  Ulpius,  Trajanus,  Dioclesian,  Ju- 
lian the  apostate,  Luther,  Romut,  (the 
Hebrew  for  Rome,  which  is  held  by 
some  who  are  neither  Catholics  nor  infi- 
dels,) Louis  XIV., Cromwell,  George  III., 
Napoleon."  But  let  us  not  be  drawn 
away  from  the  nest  by  this  fluttering 
bird.  There  is  a  clearness  and  a  defi- 
niteness  here,  which  Jesuitry  cannot  so 
easily  pervert,  nor  indolence  leave  un- 
examined under  the  plea  of  inscrutable 
mystery.  "  Here  is  wisdom,"  says  the 
apostle  ;  and  let  no  man  say,  here  is 
folly.  "  Let  him  that  understandeth, 
that  hath  a  mind,  count  or  sum  up  the 
number  of  the  beast."  Does  this  mean 
that  it  cannot  be  numbered,  that  no 
certain  interpretation  can  possibly  be 
found  1  Has  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose 
words  these  are,  called  upon  us  to 
count,  whilst  he  has  made  the  thing  im- 
possible ?  Away  with  such  impiety  as 
this. 

But  men  differ  as  to  the  meaning  of 
this  place :  a  hundred  names  contain 
this  number.  Men  also  differ  about 
many  texts  in  the  book  of  nature.  Thou- 
sands of  ignorant  beings  in  the  world, 
and  in  this  most  glorious,  at  least  most 
boastful,  of  all  the  centuries,  laugh  at 
the  idea  of  the  earth  turning  upon  its 
axis  and    round    the   sun ;   of  the  sun 


228 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


standing  still,  and  the  earth  putting  its 
dark  body  between  the  sun  and  the 
moon.  Did  this  ignorance  and  stupidity- 
stop  the  earth  itself  or  the  science  which 
investigates  its  phenomena  ;  and  force 
the  world  into  the  conclusion  that  all 
astronomical  philosophy  is  a  silly  riddle? 
He  that  studies  God's  books,  whether  of 
nature  or  of  revelation,  of  providence 
or  of  grace,  shall  become  wise. 

Let  us  then  search  for  a  name,  in 
which  the  four  above-mentioned  cha- 
racteristics meet,  and  then  let  us  rest  as- 
sured in  the  certainty  of  truth. 

Now  it  is  remarkable  that  Irenseus, 
who  lived  in  the  second  century,  has 
given  us  the  true  interpretation  here. 
He  was  a  Greek  by  nation,  but  was  long 
settled  as  a  missionary  at  Lyons  in 
France,  a  city  so  fully  imbued  with  his 
spirit,  that  it  stood  out,  for  ages,  a  bright 
spot  on  the  broad  disk  of  the  glorious 
Gallic  church.  This  is  the  city  of  Peter 
Waldo ;  not  indeed  the  founder,  but  the 
reviver  of  the  Waldenses :  and  blessed 
be  God,  in  this  city  the  leaven  of  Wal- 
densian  doctrine  is  now  working.  Ire- 
nseus  has  delivered  the  true  key  to  the 
meaning  of  this  prophetic  wisdom.  Most 
likely  he  received  it  from  his  master, 
Polycarp,  and  he,  from  his  master,  John, 
the  divine.  "  No  name,"  says  Bishop 
Newton,  "appears  more  proper  and  suit- 
able than  that  famous  one  mentioned  by 
Irenseus,  who  lived  not  long  after  St. 
John's  time,  and  was  the  disciple  of  Poly- 
carp, the  disciple  of  St.  John.  He  saith 
that  the  name  Lateinos  contains  the 
number  666  ;  and  it  is  very  likely,  be- 
cause the  last  kingdom  is  so  called,  for 
they  are  Latins  who  now  reign  ;  but  in 
this  we  will  not  glory  :  that  is,  says  the 
bishop,  as  it  becomes  a  modest  and  pious 
man  in  a  point  of  such  difficulty,  he  will 
not  be  too  confident  of  his  explanation." 
(Vol.  h.  203.) 

The  bishop  gives  the  Latin  in  a  note, 
and  perhaps  he  mistakes  Irenseus's  mean- 
ing. Probably,  by  scd  von  hoc  nos  gloria- 
mur,  he  means  that  against  this  kingdom 
we  will  not  glory.  It  is  to  be  noted  here, 
that  the  use  of  ei,  to  express,  in  Greek 
the  force  of  the  long  i  of  the  Romans 
was  frequent;  and  Irenaeus,   himself  a 


Greek,  so  writes  it  when  he  expresses 
the  name  in  Roman  letters. 

Now,  it  is  most  reasonable,  that  John 
should  use  the  numerical  force  of  the 
letters  in  the  language  in  which  he  wrote, 
and  not  in  a  different  alphabet,  where 
they,  of  course,  might  differ.  In  Hebrew 
the  same  name  would  make  the  number 
one  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  Besides,  if 
the  numerical  force  is  not  to  be  taken  in 
the  language  in  which  John  wrote,  the 
same  license  may  take  the  three  letters 
by  which  the  number  is  actually  express- 
ed by  him  in  his  Greek  text,  or  their 
analogous  letters  in  any  other  language, 
and  thus  make  an  entirely  different  num- 
ber. But  this  would  be  to  falsify,  not  to 
translate,  the  apostle's  words. 

Let  us  now  inquire  for  the  four  lead- 
ing characteristics. 

1.  Lateinos  is  the  name  of  a  man, 
the  King  of  Latium :  the  founder  of  the 
Latin  nation ;  which  was  indifferently 
called  after  him  and  Romulus.  The 
latter  prevailed  chiefly  as  to  the  state, 
whilst  the  former  adhered  as  the  name 
of  the  language. 

2.  It  is  equally  undeniable,  that  this 
name  passed  over  to  the  people,  who 
were  called  Latini.  And  the  established 
phrase  in  ecclesiastical  and  civil  history, 
especially  after  the  division  of  the  em- 
pire, was — the  Latin  church,  the  Latin 
empire  ;  as  contradistinguished  from  the 
Greek. 

3.  This  word  is  also  descriptive  of 
both  the  beasts.  This  is  the  strong  rea- 
son given  by  Irenreus  ;  and  how  any  ob- 
jection can  stand  before  it,_  we  cannot 
see.  Nothing  is  more  undeniably  true, 
than  that  the  Latin  is  the  fourth  empire, 
the  novissimum  regwwm,  as  he  expresses 
it.  If  any  thing  is  or  can  be  certain,  the 
Roman  or  Latin  beast  is  the  fourth  and 
last.  There  is,  therefore,  as  Bishop  Fa- 
ber  most  cogently  argues,  now  no  other; 
and  moreover,  the  prophecies  assure  us 
there  will  be  none  other  to  whom  the 
name  can  be  applied.  The  kingdom 
which  follows  next  after  the  Latin,  is 
the  kingdom  of  the  little  stone,  grown 
into  that  of  the  great  mountain.  The 
stupendous  chronological  giant  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, settles  this  question  beyond 


LECTURE  XXV. 


229 


a  doubt.  After  the  days  of  John,  there 
never  was  to  exist,  a  new,  universal, 
despotic  empire,  distinct  and  separate 
from  the  Roman  or  Latin. 

4.  Does  the  name  Lateinos  as  clearly 
and  indubitably  express  the  mystic  num- 
ber six  hundred  and  sixty-six?  In  Greek 
characters  it  stands  thus  : 

A  30 

A  1 

T  300 

E  5 

1  10 
N  50 
O                •      70 

2  200 


The  number  of  his  name,     666 

Thus  all  the  four  characteristics  con- 
spire with  chronology  and  prophecy,  and 
make  it  indubitably  certain  that  the  Latin 
civil  empire  is  the  ten-horned  beast ;  the 
Latin  ecclesiastical  empire  is  the  two- 
horned  beast ;  the  Latin  head  of  the 
church  is  the  image  of  the  beast.  , 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  also,  that  in 
all  these,  Latin  is  the  language  of  official 
communication  and  record.  All  inter- 
national diplomacy  must  be  in  Latin ; 
all  records  and  laws  in  Latin ;  all  eccle- 
siastical proceedings,  and  bellowings  of 
the  Papal  bull,  must  be  in  Latin  ;  all 
preaching  and  prayers  in  Latin.  The 
Council  of  Trent  went  so  far  as  to  vote 
the  Latin  Bible  to  be  the  only  true  and 
originally  authentic  Bible.  Every  thing 
must  be  conducted  in  Latin,  until  the 
Protestant  Reformation  forced  the  Latin 
dragon  out^of  his  den,  and  compelled 
him,  in  part,  to  abandon  the  Latin  tongue, 
that  he  might  defend  himself  before  the 
people  in  a  language  which  they  could 
understand. 

We  conclude  the  exposition  of  this 
important  context  with  a  general  sum- 
ming up.  The  Latin  or  Roman  empire 
is  the  ten-horned  beast  of  the  sea.  The 
Latin  or  Roman  Church  is  the  two- 
horned  beast  of  the  earth.  The  Latin 
or  Roman  Pontiff  or  Pope  is  the  image 
of  the  ten-horned  beast:  the  character- 
istics of  European  society,  so  far  as  they 
evince  unconditional  submission  to  arbi- 
trary power  in  its  amalgamated  form  of 


church  and  state,  are  the  mark  of  the 
beast ;  Lateinos  is  his  name:  six  hundred 
and  sixty-six  the  number  of  his  name. 

Some  practical  remarks  will  close  this 
lecture. 

1.  Sabbath  profanation  is  one  charac- 
teristic in  the  mark  of  the  beast.  In 
what  part  of  the  Roman  Catholic  world, 
where  her  power  is  dominant,  do  we 
find  the  Lord's  day  consecrated  to  moral 
and  religious  improvement  ?  Is  it  so  in 
Montreal,  in  Quebec,  in  New  Orleans, 
where  Catholic  influence  is  great,  if  not 
pi'evalent,  and  do  we  find  the  day  kept 
holy  to  God  ?  Go  to  Paris.  Is  there 
any  such  thing  as  a  holy  consecration 
of  the  day  to  sacred  things  ?  Wherever 
we  can  trace  the  track  of  the  beast,  we 
will  find  the  crushed  remains  of  God's 
holy  institution.  The  car  of  this  Mo- 
loch rides  in  fury  over  this  hallowed 
day.  But  what  is  the  philosophy  of  this 
fact?  What  is  the  policy  of  the  two 
beasts,  and  of  the  dragon  now  incarnate 
in  them?  Manifestly  this, — were  the 
day  kept  holy  to  God ;  were  the  whole 
Sabbath  devoted  to  the  instruction  of  the 
people  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible  and  the 
exercises  of  devotion,  they  would  be- 
come enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of 
their  rights  and  duties,  and  acquire  a  dis- 
position to  improve  and  enjoy  them  ;  and 
this  would  of  course  be  fatal  to  the  inte- 
rests  of  oppression.  The  light  of  a  pure 
Christian  Sabbath  would  dispel  that  dark- 
ness which  is  essential  to  the  dominion 
of  brute  force. 

But  inasmuch  as  experience  has  fully 
taught  mankind  the  necessity  of  a  perio- 
dical relaxation  of  the  physical  ener- 
gies, in  order  to  physical  health,  it  be- 
comes the  abettors  of  bestial  dominion, 
to  find  employment  for  the  mass  of  the 
people  during  this  day  of  necessary  re- 
laxation. For,  to  turn  out  the  whole 
population,  without  any  thing  to  attract 
and  divert  their  attention,  would  be  un- 
safe. Hence,  in  all  popish  countries,  it 
is  a  part  of  the  policy  of  their  masters, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  to  plan  public 
amusements  on  the  Sabbath.  Hence 
all  kinds  of  dissipation,  theatres,  balls, 
gaming  establishments,  military  parades, 
promenades,  gardens  for  pleasure.    The 


230 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ecclesiastical  mummeries  occupy  the 
morning  ;  after  which,  the  whole  mass, 
people,  priests,  bishops,  archbishops, 
nobles,  and  princes,  all  prostitute  the 
remainder  of  the  Sabbath  to  the  service 
of  Satan  ;  all  set  the  law  of  God  at  defi- 
ance. Few  men  ever  think  of  the  policy 
of  their  masters  in  this  thing.  These 
masters  understand  it  well  ;  for  it  is  the 
scheme  which  they  themselves  have  con- 
cocted, to  occupy  the  attention  of  the 
people  and  prevent  it  from  dwelling  on 
their  wrongs.  Thus  in  England,  when 
the  Stuarts  would  restore  Popery,  they 
planned  Sabbath  amusements,  and  pub- 
lished a  book  of  sports  and  plays  autho- 
rized by  royal  license.  The  design 
ostensibly  was  to  please  the  ignorant 
rabble  ;  really  to  corrupt  the  public  mo- 
rals, and  thereby  to  render  necessary  a 
compulsatory  dominion. 

Such,  to  this  day,  is  the  practice  of 
the  same  powers.  Well  do  they  know 
that  an  ignorant  and  immoral  people  can 
be  governed  by  no  other  than  an  iron 
hand  ;  therefore  they  foster  corruption, 
in  order  to  create  and  perpetuate  the 
necessity  for  this  mode  of  government. 
Can  any  one  doubt  that  this  policy  is 
now  working  in  our  country?  Is  it  not 
clear,  that  foreign  influences  are  con- 
centrating upon  our  large  towns  to  cor- 
rupt their  morals  ?  Are  not  our  thea- 
tres almost  entirely  sustained  by  foreign 
importations  ? 

2.  Roman  Catholicism  wears  a  lamb- 
like gentleness,  until  it  gains  the  power, 
and  then  it>speaks  like  a  dragon.  How 
very  mild  it  is  now  in  our  land  !  How 
extremely  fond  of  liberty  and  tolera- 
tion !  How  decidedly  opposed  to  an 
establishment  of  religion,  a  union  of 
church  and  state  !  But  how  speaks  the 
present  reigning  Pope?  Hear  his  lan- 
guage. "  Nor  can  we  augur  more  con- 
soling consequences  to  religion  and  the 
government,  from  the  zeal  of  some  to 
separate  the  church  from  the  state,  and 
to  burst  the  bond  which  unites  the 
priesthood  to  the  empire.  For  it  is 
clear  that  this  union  is  dreaded  by  the 
profane  lovers  of  liberty,  only  because 
it  has  never  failed  to  confer  prosperity 
on  both."    (Breckenridge's  and  Hughes' 


Debate,  p.  338.)  Thus  does  the  Pope 
maintain  in  theory,  what  he  has  always 
practised,  when  it  lay  in  his  power ; 
combined  the  civil  and  religious  autho- 
rity into  one  practical  despotic  system. 
To  carry  out  this  it  was,  that  Philip  of 
Spain,  instigated  by  the  Popish  ecclesi- 
astics, sent  the  Duke  of  Alva  into  the 
Netherlands  to  crush  all  opposers  of  this 
doctrine.  This  fearful  monster  boasted, 
says  Hume,  "  that  during  the  course 
of  five  years,  he  had  delivered  above 
eighteen  thousand  of  these  rebellious 
heretics  (the  Protestants)  into  the  hand 
of  the  executioner,"  (vii.  201.)  And  all 
these  besides  the  tens  of  thousands  who 
were  butchered  by  his  savage  soldiery. 

3.  The  horns  of  this  beast  are  both 
in  our  country.  The  secular  clergy, 
bishops  and  priests  are  all  over  the  land. 
The  regulars,  Dominicans  and  Francis- 
cans, but  especially  the  Jesuits,  are  pass- 
ing over  us  as  the  fiery  dragons  of  the 
Arabian  desert  passed  over  the  Israel- 
ijish  camp.  Now,  we  must  ever  remem- 
ber that  Rome  has  always  claimed  infal- 
libility. She  can  never  change  her  prin- 
ciples; consequently,  the  work  of  her 
clergy  is  now  as  it  ever  was :  the  ser- 
vice of  their  foreign  master  they  must 
perform.  They  must  put  the  mark  of 
the  beast  upon  our  people,  and  so  bring 
them  into  full  and  perfect  subjection  to 
the  two  beasts.  Accordingly,  the  fact 
is  plain,  that  they  are  much  more  zeal- 
ous to  educate  our  Protestant  children 
than  to  teach  the  wretched,  ignorant 
progeny  of  the  Catholic  population. 

4.  We,  in  these  United  States,  do  not 
dwell  within  the  Roman  earth,  whence 
we  infer,  that  we  never  will  be  brought 
under  the  dominion  of  Rome.  Our  safety, 
however,  does  not  lie  in  our  supineness. 
The  living  creatures  are  full  of  eyes, 
and  the  Argus  eyes  of  the  American 
ministry  are  upon  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  her  machinations  will  not  long  lie 
hidden.  Let  us  remember  that  Rome 
claims  the  same  right  to  our  soil  that 
she  did  in  the  days  of  Columbus ;  and 
the  same  authority  to  interdict  nations 
now  that  she  exercised  in  the  days  of 
Henry  VIII. ;  the  same  right  to  excom- 
municate and  dethrone  and  burn  here- 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


231 


tics.  All  she  lacks  is  the  physical 
force. 

5.  The  soul  or  mind  of  man  must  be 
brought  into  bondage  to  sin  before  his 
person  can  became  a  slave  to  tyrannical 
power.  This  is  fearfully  illustrated  in 
the  means  by  which  the  two-horned 
beast  keeps  in  political  bondage  the  po- 
pulation of  Europe.  It  vitiates  the  mo- 
rals of  men  by  corrupting  their  religion. 
Why  should  the  very  basest  of  the  hu- 
man race  tread  upon  the  neck  of  the 
race?  Why  should  the  whole  mass  of 
a  people  be  ground  down  under  the  op- 
pression of  one  man  ?  On  no  other 
principle  can  this  strange  phenomenon 
in  the  moral  government  of  God  be  ac- 
counted for,  but  this  :  that  sin  blinds  the 
understanding,  debases  the  conscience, 
and  corrupts  the  morals,  and  for  punish- 
ment of  these  things  they  are  delivered 
over  to  bondage. 

Lastly,  we  learn  from  this  discussion, 
the  relation  of  pure  Christianity  to  hu- 
man freedom.  It  redeems  the  mind  and 
conscience  from  the  thraldom  of  sin  and 
pollution,  and  makes  the  man  morally 
free.  It  fits  him  for  a  government  of 
moral  law,  and  teaches  him  therein  his 
right  to  enjoy  it.  Here  is  the  solution 
of  the  historical  fact,  that  every  where 
Protestant  Christianity  is  the  handmaid 
of  liberty  and  representative  govern- 
ment ;  and  Romanism  the  sworn  ally  of 
legitimacy  or  arbitrary  power. 

Hence  the  vast  importance,  to  this 
nation  and  to  the  world,  of  a  thorough 
reformation  in  religion ; — the  high  and 
sacred  duty  of  guarding  ourselves  against 
those  who  oppose  the  reformation  prin- 
ciples, by  a  corrupt  Christianity  on  the 
one  hand,  and  by  infidelity  on  the 
other. 

Be  this  the  care  of  the  church  ;  so 
shall  the  religion  of  Jesus  become  the 
religion  of  the  world. 


LECTURE  XXVI. 

Rev.  xiv. 

From  scenes  of  tyranny,  oppression, 
and  blood,  and  the  abominations  which 


give  rise  to  them,  the  heart  of  piety  turns 
away  with  disgust.  To  exhibitions  of 
moral  excellence,  and  the  peace,  happi- 
ness, and  liberty,  which  results  from 
them,  the  same  heart  turns  with  com- 
placency, joy  and  delight.  If  the  mind 
of  man  were  perfectly  pure,  it  might 
perhaps,  contemplate  the  iniquities  of 
Popery,  and  the  horrors  of  despotism, 
without  danger  or  injury.  But  as  we 
are  in  fact  tainted  with  evil,  it  is  not  safe 
to  give  long  and  constant  attention  to 
moral  impurities.  There  is  yet  so  much 
within  us  which  tends  to  assimilate  and 
coalesce  with  iniquity,  that  a  prudent 
man  will  carefully  guard  against  ex- 
hibiting continually  before  the  eye  of  his 
mind,  examples  of  deep  depravity.  Ac- 
cording to  this  principle  are  the  sacred 
Sriptures  composed.  Whether  didactic, 
historic,  or  prophetic,  they  never  keep 
us  for  any  great  length  of  time,  in  the 
contemplation  of  crimes.  Soon,  from 
the  sickening  scenes  of  impiety,  they 
call  us  to  behold  the  reverse,  and  thus, 
by  contrast,  make  virtue  and  truth  take 
the  firmer  hold  upon  our  better  judgment, 
and  more  thorough  command  of  our 
benevolent  feelings. 

This  forms  a  correct  reason  for  the 
opinion,  that  good  preaching  consists  in 
the  simple  exposition  or  explanation  of 
the  Scriptures,  just  in  the  order  in  which 
God  has  written  them.  This  method  we 
much  prefer  to  mere  sermonizing  upon 
detached  texts,  without  ever  taking  up 
the  books  of  Scripture  and  expounding 
them  continuously.  And  it  is  departure 
from  this  principle  of  continuous  expo- 
sition, that  constitutes  an  objection  to 
the  version  of  the  Bible  Psalms  now  in 
very  general  use.  Doctor  Watts  has 
attempted,  professedly,  to  improve  upon 
the  sentiment,  the  very  matter,  and  the 
order,  by  various  omissions  and  addi- 
tions, to  fit  the  Psalms  for  Christian 
worship.  This  is  unfair.  If  Pope  had 
taken  the  same  license  with  the  poems 
of  Homer,  all  the  amateurs  of  Greek 
poetry  in  the  world  would  have  cried, 
Shame  on  the  presumptuous  intruder  ! 
But  it  is  a  pious  and  zealous  Christian 
divine  who  has  taken  this  liberty  with 
the  songs  of  Zion,  and  almost  the  whole 


232 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


church  acquiesce  in  it.  What  would 
we  think  of  the  French  poet,  who,  pro- 
posing to  enrich  French  literature  with 
a  versification  of  the  masterpiece  of  the 
English  muse,  should  mangle  and  trans- 
pose the  torn  limbs  of  the  Paradise  Lost, 
until  Milton  himself  might  meet  his  first- 
born on  the  highway  and  not  recognise 
it  ?  And  must  this  literary  butchery  be 
tolerated,  because,  forsooth,  the  victim 
is  the  inspired  Psalmist  1  Why  should 
the  heaven-taught  bard  be  misrepre- 
sented thus  1  Let  us  rather  have  the 
songs  of  inspiration  as  God  inspired 
them,  and  as  nearly  as  is  possible,  and 
consistent  with  the  laws  of  English  ver- 
sification. God's  order  of  thought  is 
doubtless  best  for  his  church.  H  any 
one  think  he  can  write  better  spiritual 
songs  than  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel, 
let  him  do  it:  but  let  him  not  dress  the 
savoury  meat  which  God  hath  prepared, 
until  all  its  substance  and  savour  are 
gone,  and  then  present  it  to  us  as  an 
imitation  of  David's  Psalms. 

The  order  of  thought  in  the  Bible  is 
no  doubt  advantageous  to  the  church, 
and  its  diversity  would  effectually  pre- 
vent monotonous  sameness  in  the  pulpit. 
If  ministers  would  preach  God's  word, 
— expound  the  scriptures  continuously, 
there  would  be  an  endless  change  of 
matter  and  discussion.  We  have  just 
been  viewing  scenes  of  oppression,  and 
blood,  and  affliction  to  the  church.  If 
we  are  weary  of  it,  we  have  but  to  follow 
on  in  the  order  of  the  text,  and  we  will 
find  sufficient  variety.  In  this  xiv. 
chapter  we  pass  from  the  blasphemies 
and  blood  of  the  man  of  sin,  to  the 
blaze  of  light  from  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, and  the  Eden  bloom  of  his  re- 
deemed church. 

Verses  1-5.  "  And  I  looked,  and,  lo, 
a  Lamb  stood  on  the  mount  Sion,  and 
with  him  an  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  thousand,  having  his  father's  name 
written  in  their  foreheads.  And  I  heard 
a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  a 
great  thunder  ;  and  I  heard  the  voice  of 
harpers  harping  with  their  harps  :  and 
they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before 
the  throne,  and  before  the  four  beasts, 


and  the  elders ;  and  no  man  could  learn 
that  song  but  the  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  thousand,  which  were  redeemed 
from  the  earth.  These  are  they  which 
were  not  defiled  with  women ;  for  they 
are  virgins.  These  are  they  which  fol- 
low the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth. 
These  were  redeemed  from  among  men, 
being  the  first  fruits  unto  God  and  to  the 
Lamb.  And  in  their  mouth  was  found 
no  guile  ;  for  they  are  without  fault  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God." 

Let  not  the  glow  of  this  language,  the 
splendour  of  this  imagery,  carry  us  away 
from  earth,  the  present  abode  of  the 
church.  Let  us  not  forget  the  chrono- 
logical character  of  these  prophecies, 
and  transfer  this  language  to  the  future 
state  of  heavenly  rest,  which  it  is  so 
aptly  calculated  to  describe,  and  whence 
it  is  indeed  borrowed.  It  is  a  description 
of  the  spiritual  state  of  the  true  church 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  twelve  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  of  her  oppression. 
It  is  a  vision  of  the  Lamb,  and  his  com- 
pany and  their  doings.  Let  us  examine 
particulars  in  their  order. 

1.  The  Lamb  is  the  same  who  opened 
the  seven  seals  ;  the  Lord  our  Redeemer, 
in  the  precise  character  of  atoner  for  his 
people's  sins.  Ever  and  anon  do  the 
scriptures  bear  us  back  and  plant  our 
feet  on  the  fundamental  doctrine,  the 
Christ  and  him  crucified.  There  is  no 
room  for  hesitancy  here,  and  no  need  for 
explanation. 

2.  Observe  his  position  ;  he  has  taken 
his  station  and  occupies  it.  Like  the 
commander  of  a  great  army  in  the  field 
and  in  the  day  of  conflict,  he  has  chosen 
his  post,  and  marks  the  struggles  of  his 
hosts  for  that  victory  and  triumph  which 
his  own  wisdom  and  power  have  made 
sure  to  them  in  its  proper  season. 

3.  The  place  where  he  stands  :  Mount 
Zion,  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  true 
church.  "  For  the  Lord  has  chosen 
Zion  ;  he  hath  desired  it  for  his  habita- 
tion. God  is  in  the  midst  of  her,-  she 
shall  not  be  moved." 

4.  His  company, — an  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  thousand,  the  whole  body 
of  his  believing  people,  the  witnesses  of 
Jesus. 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


■233 


5.  The  mark  of  his  people ;  his  Fa- 
ther's name  is  written  in  their  foreheads. 
If  we  look  back  a  few  lines,  it  is  impos- 
sible we  should  not  believe  that  this  is  a 
contrast  to  the  mark  of  the  beast.  And 
this  renders  the  exposition  easy,  in  view 
of  what  we  have  said  relative  to  that 
mark.  The  name  of  God  is  that  by 
which  he  is  known,  that  which  expresses 
his  essential  attributes.  His  name  upon 
his  people's  forehead  is  therefore  his  holy 
character  impressed  upon  them,  whereby 
they  are  known  to  be  his.  They  are 
not  merely  secret  and  practical  adherents 
of  his  ;  they  have  not  his  mark  in  their 
right  hand,  or  on  their  forehead  :  they 
are  openly  and  avowedly  his.  The  fol- 
lowers of  the  beast  were  partly  marked 
on  their  foreheads,  openly  and  manifestly 
with  him ;  many  also  were  practically, 
though  not  avowedly  antichristian  :  but 
these  all  have  the  Father's  name  on  their 
forehead, — are  professedly  God's  wit- 
nesses. 

6.  The  spiritual  joys  of  the  church 
are  described  in  verses  2  and  3.  And 
the  first  audible  sound  is  an  immense 
burst  of  voices,  the  thundering  acclaim 
of  that  vast  multitude,  symbolized  by  the 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand.  There 
is,  then,  a  distinction  in  the  sounds,  so 
that  the  notes  of  their  music  can  be 
heard.  Then  the  articulations  of  their 
sounds  fall  upon  the  ear  :  the  sentiments 
they  utter  correspond  to  the  glad  feelings 
they  experience.  In  the  next  chapter,  it 
is  called  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the 
Lamb. 

7.  The  propriety  of  instrumental  mu- 
sic in  religious  worship  may  possibly  be 
inferred  from  this  language.  True,  the 
action  here  is  symbolical,  and  shadows 
forth  the  high  spiritual  joys  of  the  mili- 
tant yet  rejoicing  church.  Still,  the 
efficiency  and  the  propriety  of  the  sym- 
bol it  would  be  difficult  to  perceive,  if 
instruments  were  in  themselves  impro- 
per. Be  this  point  settled  as  it  may,  we 
are  certainly  taught,  that  no  music,  in- 
strumental or  vocal,  should  destroy  or 
drown  distinct  articulation.  The  voices 
should  be  such,  that  the  words  may  be 
distinctly  heard,  and  so  the  sentiments 
harmonize  all  hearts. 

30 


8.  This  song  is  sung  in  the  presence 
of  the  throne.  Still,  we  must  remember, 
we  are  in  sight  of  the  scene  described  in 
chapter  v.  The  services  of  God's  re- 
joicing martyrs  are  conducted  before 
him,  and  in  presence  of  the  living  crea- 
tures, that  is,  the  ministry  and  the  elder- 
ship of  the  church. 

9.  This  song  is  known  and  can  be 
known  only  to  the  saints  of  God.  "  The 
secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear 
him,  and  he  will  show  them  his  cove- 
nant." (Ps.  xv.  14.)  Into  his  secret 
only  they  who  are  redeemed  from  the 
earth,  or  rescued  from  the  power  of 
Rome,  are  introduced.  History  abun- 
dantly shows,  that  their  bloody  persecu- 
tors could  never  understand  on  what 
principles,  and  by  what  wonderful  power, 
the  martyrs  of  Jesus  were  upheld  and 
enabled  to  rejoice  in  the  midst  of  such 
unutterable  anguish  as  they  were  com- 
pelled to  endure. 

10.  The  character  of  these  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  is  expounded  in 
verses  4  and  5.  Six  particulars  are 
mentioned  :  1.  Their  holiness.  The 
symbol  of  this  is  female  chastity.  As 
the  Scriptures  often  describe  moral  pol- 
lution, and  especially  that  of  the  Roman 
Antichrist,  under  the  figure  of  sexual  im- 
purity, so  the  spotless  morality  of  the 
true  disciples  of  Jesus  in  this  age  is  re- 
presented by  a  virgin.  2.  Their  activity 
is  described  by  their  following  the  Lamb. 
They  aim  at  entire  conformity  with  his 
example.  And  truly  the  witnesses  of 
God,  during  this  period,  gave  most  over- 
whelming evidence  of  their  humble  and 
devoted  piety  :  they  followed  the  Lamb 
in  tribulation  and  sorrow.  3.  The  man- 
ner in  which  they  became  thus  pure  and 
devoted  : — they  were  redeemed  from  the 
iniquities  of  men,  and  brought  out  and 
separated  from  the  pollutions  of  the  Pa- 
pacy, by  the  blood  of  the  Saviour,  and 
the  Spirit  of  his  grace.  4.  They  stand 
related  to  a  vastly  greater  number.  The 
"  first  fruits"  was  a  handful  of  grain, 
cut  from  the  first  ripe  part  of  the  field, 
and  presented  to  God  as  a  thank-offering, 
and  guarantee  or  promise  of  the  full 
harvest.  This  great  multitude  is  to  the 
vastly  greater  multitude  of  the  millen- 


•234 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


nian  period,  only  as  the  handful  to  the 
whole  harvest.  5.  Their  guileless  tem- 
per. And  never  did  humanity  exhibit 
more  of  this  than  among  the  VValden- 
sian  and  Albigensian  Christians.  6.  They 
are  spotless  before  God.  The  Father 
views  his  holy  and  faithful  ones  in  the 
face  of  his  dear  Son,  and  he  sees  in 
them  neither  stain  nor  blemish. 

But  against  this  description  of  the 
character,  condition,  and  joys  of  the 
saints  in  the  period  referred  to,  it  may 
occur  as  an  objection,  that,  we  have 
already  contemplated  them  as  exces- 
sively afflicted.  They  are  harassed  and 
persecuted  in  a  most  shocking  manner. 
Where  then  is  the  consistency  of  repre- 
senting them,  at  the  same  time,  as  filled 
with  joy  and  exultation, — as  singing  and 
glorying  in  their  blessed  privileges  ? 

These  individual  believers,  and  the 
true  church,  were  indeed  afflicted  and 
tormented  in  one  sense.  As  to  temporal 
joys,  and  earthly  pleasures,  and  worldly 
goods,  they  were  poor  and  wretched  be- 
yond conception.  But  in  regard  to  their 
better  part,  the  undying  spirit, — in  re- 
gard to  inward  blessedness,  they  enjoyed 
a  heaven  upon  earth.  God  filled  the 
soul  with  an  unwonted  measure  of  the 
fire  of  divine  love,  whilst  man  was  sur- 
rounding the  body  with  the  consuming 
flame.  In  this  way  only  can  we  account 
for  the  calmness,  even  joyful ness,  with 
which  thousands  of  martyrs  marched  to 
the  stake.  But  no  external  tortures  can 
extinguish  the  bright  flames  of  divine 
love  that  burn  within.  How  these  things 
can  be,  we  know  not  :  but  that  they  are 
so,  hundreds  who  have  ascended  to 
heaven  in  chariots  of  fire,  abundantly 
testify. 

We  have  in  the  context,  verses  6-13, 
inclusive,  three  several  visions  of  angels, 
each  angel  announcing  his  own  particu- 
lar message  for  the  church's  instruction. 
They  are  all  emblematic  of  the  ministry 
of  the  church  of  God,  but  at  different 
periods,  and  in  different  circumstances. 
Be  it  our  care,  from  the  circumstances 
and  burden  of  their  messages  respec- 
tively, to  ascertain  the  times  and  places, 
and,  of  course,  the  aggregate  of  persons 
intended. 


Verses  6,  7.  "  And  I  saw  another 
angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him;  for 
the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come  :  and 
worship  him  that  made  heaven,  and 
earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of 
waters." 

In  the  application  of  this  passage, 
there  are  diverse  opinions,  and  some 
must  consequently  be  incorrect.  Those 
who  pay  little  or  no  regard  to  chro- 
nology, are  under  constant  misappre- 
hension in  their  prophetical  expositions. 
Similarity  of  phrase  and  circumstance 
often  carries  them  far  away  from  truth. 
Bishop  Newton  is  peculiarly  unhappy 
here.  He  seems  to  make  the  first  angel 
to  be  Charlemagne  ;  because  that  em- 
peror called  the  Council  of  Frankfort  in 
794,  which  condemned  image-worship. 
He  also  himself  wrote,  or  caused  to  be 
written,  four  books  against  image-wor- 
ship, which  from  him  are  called  the 
Caroline  books. 

But  the  electoral  emperor  is  the  last 
head  of  the  ten-horned  beast,  as  the 
bishop  maintains  :  he  cannot,  therefore, 
certainly,  be  the  angel  of  this  text.  Per- 
haps, however,  the  learned  prelate  only 
means  that  the  gospel  preachers  whom 
Charles  encouraged,  were  the  angel. 
This  would  not  be  so  great  an  error, 
but  still  the  chronology  would  be  utterly 
disregarded. 

Mr.  Faber  is  almost  equally  far  astray. 
He  represents  Luther  and  the  Lutheran 
churches  as  the  first  angel ;  Calvin  and 
the  Calvinistic  churches  as  the  second, 
and  the  episcopal  establishment  of  Bri- 
tain as  the  third.  Now  we  dislike  the 
division  of  that  one  glorious  revolution, 
the  Protestant  Reformation,  into  three 
parts.  In  fact,  it  is  one,  and  its  actors 
all  felt  it  to  be  one; — one  in  origin,  in 
life,  in  spirit,  in  act,  in  execution.  It 
stands  out,  in  the  chronicles  of  ages,  the 
brilliant  spot,  to  which  the  finger  of  His- 
tory can  point  us  no  equal  in  her  bio- 
graphy of  the  world.  This  most  illus- 
trious   of  all   historic    dramas    consists 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


235 


of  various  acts,  indeed,  but  the  action 
is  one. 

More  felicitous  is  the  exposition  of  Dr. 
Scott,  who  applies  it  to  the  glorious 
Piedmontese  revival  of  religion,  to  which 
we  have  already  given  some  attention. 
The  angel  is  called  another,  in  reference 
to  the  angel  whom  John  beheld  flying 
through  the  midst  of  heaven,  denouncing 
vengeance  under  the  three  woes,  (chap, 
viii.  13.)  This  angel  is  the  same  minis- 
iry  announcing  to  the  entire  Roman 
world  the  everlasting  Gospel.  History, 
in  accordance  with  this,  informs  us  that 
the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses  held  aloft 
the  light  of  truth  in  the  midst  of  Papal 
darkness ;  and  arrested  the  attention 
and  the  opposition  of  the  corrupters  of 
the  church. 

These  messengers  were  to  herald 
mercy,  not  only  in  the  heart  of  the  Ro- 
man earth,  but  to  every  "  nation,  and 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people"  within 
it.  For  so  ought  it  to  be  understood, — 
"  unto  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth, 
even  to  every  nation."  "  Accordingly," 
says  Dr.  Scott,  "  after  immense  slaughter 
had  been  made  of  them  by  persecutions 
and  bloody  wars,  they  still  retained  their 
tenets;  and  being  dispersed  into  all  coun- 
tries, they  rapidly  carried  the  everlasting 
Gospel  with  them ;  so  that  the  Lollards 
in  England,  and  the  Bohemians,  and 
many  others  in  different  places,  seem  to 
have  principally  learned  the  Gospel  from 
them  ;  the  Reformation  itself  seems  to 
have  sprung  from  the  seed  which  they 
sowed,  and  watered  with  rivers  of  their 
blood." 

"  It  was,"  says  Dr.  McLeod,  "  in  the 
year  1180,  that  this  revival  commenced 
among  those  who,  for  upwards  of  five 
hundred  years,  had  been  distinguished 
for  their  dissent  from  the  established  re- 
ligion of  the  empire,"  (p.  465.)  These 
heralds  call  upon  men  to  fear  God, 
and  give  glory  to  him,  in  direct  contra- 
diction to  the  preaching  of  the  monks 
and  clergy,  who  are  symbolized  by  the 
two-horned  beast,  who  constantly  called 
upon  men  to  worship  the  beast,  his 
image,  and  the  dragon  who  dwelt  in 
them. 

Their  reason  for  this  call  is,  that  the 


time  for  God  to  punish  the  apostacy  is 
approaching, — "  for  the  hour  of  his  judg- 
ment is  come."  This  cannot  refer  to. 
the  period  of  the  last  judgment:  the  chro- 
nology and  connexion  forbid  it.  Other 
judgments  of  God  innumerable  there  are. 

"  Now  is  the  prince  of  this  world  judg- 
ed." On  any  and  every  occasion  when 
large  accessions  are  made  to  the  true 
church,  the  adversary  of  souls  is  judged. 
The  period  referred  to  in  our  text,  is  one 
of  extensive  revival ;  when  great  num- 
bers in  Piedmont  and  adjoining  territo- 
ries of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  in  the  south 
of  France  and  Switzerland  were  turned 
unto  the  Lord.  The  preachers  became 
more  bold.  Encouraged  by  the  support 
and  countenance  of  Pierre  Waldo,  a 
wealthy  merchant  of  Lyons,  they  urged 
the  renunciation  of  idols,  and  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  only. 

It  has  been  made  a  question,  whether 
this  last  clause,  "worship  him  that  made 
heaven  and  earth,"  is  to  be  taken  lite- 
rally, or  symbolically.  We  incline  to 
the  former,  because  when  these  preachers 
dissuade  from  idolatry,  they  naturally 
point  out  the  true  and  only  object  of  re- 
ligious veneration.  And  instead  of  call- 
ing him  Creator,  they  use  a  periphrasis, 
"  him  that  made  lieaven  and  earth.'''' 
Worship  ye  God  the  Creator,  and  not 
man  invested  with  power,  or  images,  or 
pictures,  or  relics.  The  figurative  in- 
terpretation, however,  is  not  inconsistent 
with  truth.  It  will  then  mean,  Worship 
ye  God,  who,  providentially,  made  this 
earth,  or  Roman  state  and  church,  this 
agitated  sea  of  human  society,  and  all 
the  fountains  of  population  that  flow  into 
it.  The  other  appears  to  us  the  best 
sense.  It  enjoins,  in  a  periphrasis,  the 
worship  of  God,  the  Creator ;  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  man-worship  of  the  Papacy, 
and  the  whole  demonology  of  Rome. 

Verse  8.  "  And  there  followed  another 
angel,  saying,  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen, 
that  great  city,  because  she  made  all  na- 
tions drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
her  fornication." 

Doctor  Scott  is  not  quite  so  happy  in 
his  explanation  of  this  verse.  He  ap- 
plies it  to  the  Bohemian  Reformation  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  there  is  much 


236 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


plausibility  in  his  remarks.  John  Huss 
and  Jerome  of  Prague,  fought  bravely 
against  the  legions  of  Rome,  and  tri- 
umphed gloriously,  ascending  like  Elijah, 
in  chariots  of  flame.  The  cause  of  pure 
Christianity  greatly  revived  in  Bohemia, 
and  the  ashes  of  Huss,  which  were 
thrown  by  his  persecutors  into  the  Rhine, 
appear  to  have  purified  its  waters,  so 
that  they  flowed  not  in  the  same  direc- 
tion of  those  in  Ezekiel's  vision,  but  with 
a  similar  effect.  Wherever  they  flowed, 
the  waters  were  healed, — every  thing 
shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh.  A 
hundred  years  afterwards,  the  same  doc- 
trines spread  along  the  banks  of  the 
lower  Rhine.  Still  the  Bohemian  Refor- 
mation was  not  characterized  by  that 
extensive  and  permanent  effect ;  it  did 
not,  viewed  as  distinct  from  that  of  the 
preceding  and  that  of  the  subsequent 
century,  give  such  a  blow  to  Papal 
power  as  is  implied  in  the  language, 
"Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen."  This  lan- 
guage shuts  us  up  to  some  great  trans- 
action that  cripples  the  power  of  the 
spiritual  Babylon,  and  whose  effects 
leave  her  not  till  death.  What  can  that 
be  but  the  ever-blessed  Reformation  of 
the  sixteenth  century ! 

Popish  persecution  had  driven  out 
many  of  the  Waldenses  from  their  na- 
tive land.  The  hungry  pack  of  Papal 
wolves,  under  promise  from  Rome 
of  rich  prey,  had  rushed  upon  the 
flocks  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  the 
peaceful  vales,  and  driven  all  who  were 
not  slaughtered  and  devoured  up  the 
ravines  into  the  higher  Alps.  Many 
passed  entirely  over  the  northern  and 
western  summits  of  these  stupendous 
barriers;  and  Switzerland  became  the 
home  of  a  thousand  refugees  from  the 
thousand  fountains  of  the  Po.  Switzer- 
land !  How  the  patriot  blood  warms  at 
the  mention  of  her  name  !  History  has 
never  done  justice  to  the  land  of  Tell 
and  of  Calvin.  When  her  genius  shall 
have  been  converted  to  the  true  religion, 
and  baptized  in  the  Christian  font,  she 
will  take  her  station  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Jura,  and  spreading  out  her  un- 
sullied tablets,  will  trace  the  records  of 
truth  for  the  world's  instruction.     And 


these  records  will  show,  that  the  waters 
of  life,  like  the  countless  Alpine  streams, 
flowed  down  in  all  directions,  from  the 
country  of  Ulrich  Zuingle,  John  Calvin, 
and  Theodore  Beza.  From  her  com- 
manding position,  she  will  point  to  Mont 
Blanc  as  the  appropriate  symbol  of  the 
Genevan  Reformer,  whose  genius,  tow- 
ering above  all  other  reformers,  as  the 
monarch  of  the  mountains  above  all 
surrounding  hills,  pours  the  streams  of 
his  light  upon  the  churches  of  all  sur- 
rounding nations.  Or,  snatching  the 
pencil  of  the  graphic  muse,  she  will 
sketch  forth,  for  the  instruction  of  man- 
kind, the  image  of  a  pure  and  simple 
republic,  as  it  is  reflected  from  the  sil- 
very surface  of  Lake  Leman. 

Switzerland  was  foremost  in  the  Pro- 
testant Reformation.  "  But  it  is  well 
known,"  says  Doctor  Maclaine,  "  that 
so  early  as  the  year  1516,  Zuingle  had 
begun  to  explain  the  scriptures  to  the 
people,  and  to  censure,  though  with  great 
prudence  and  moderation,  the  errors  of 
a  corrupt  church  :  and  that  he  had  very 
noble  and  extensive  ideas  of  a  general 
reformation,  at  the  very  time  that  Lu- 
ther retained  almost  the  whole  system 
of  Popery,  indulgences  excepted.  Luther 
proceeded  very  slowly  to  that  examina- 
tion, from  the  prejudices  of  education, 
which  Zuingle,  by  the  force  of  an  ad- 
venturous genius,  and  an  uncommon 
degree  of  knowledge  and  penetration, 
easily  got  rid  of.  Zuingle  had  explained 
the  scriptures  to  the  people,  and  called 
in  question  the  authority  and  supremacy 
of  the  Pope  before  the  name  of  Luther 
was  known  in  Switzerland.  Besides, 
instead  of  receiving  instruction  from  the 
German  Reformer,  he  was  much  his 
superior  in  learning,  capacity,  and  judg- 
ment ;  and  was  much  fitter  to  be  his 
master,  than  his  disciple,  as  the  four 
volumes  in  folio  we  have  of  his  works 
abundantly  testify." 

It  is  very  possible  that  the  plot  of  the 
Dominicans,  at  Rome,  seven  years  be- 
fore, had  given  an  impulse  to  the  inves- 
tigations of  Zuingle.  This  plot  had  for 
its  object  the  gaining  of  an  ascend- 
ancy for  their  order  over  the  Francis- 
cans.     The   Franciscans   affirmed   the 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


237 


immaculate  conception  of  Mary,  which 
the  Dominicans  denied.  They  used  as 
their  tool  one  Jetzer,  in  order  to  get  up 
a  series  of  miracles  in  Switzerland,  for 
the  benefit  of  their  order  ;  but  pushing 
the  thing  too  far,  they  were  detected. 
Jetzer  himself  seized  the  prior  of  the 
abbey  where  these  pretended  miracles 
were  wrought,  and  nearly  killed  him  ; 
he  then  escaped  from  the  convent,  and 
threw  himself  upon  the  protection  of  the 
civil  power.  Subsequently,  a  commis- 
sion was  sent  from  Rome,  and  four  of 
the  monks  were  tried,  condemned,  and 
executed.  Thus  the  abominations  of 
Popery  occasioned  their  bolder  denun- 
ciation by  the  Swiss  Reformer. 

At  the  same  time  it  must  be  stated,  to 
the  honour  of  Luther,  that  he  was  as 
ignorant  of  the  movements  in  Switzer- 
land, as  Zuingle  was  of  those  in  Ger- 
many. In  the  following  year,  1517, 
the  Saxon  broke  with  the  Pope,  and  the 
Lion  of  the  Reformation  lifted  up  his 
voice,  "Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen." 
This  does  not  refer  to  the  destruction  of 
Babylon,  as  is  generally  assumed;  but 
to  her  fall  from  the  state  and  condition 
of  the  true  and  pure  church.  It  was  the 
doctrine  proclaimed  by  Luther,  Zuingle, 
Le  Fevre,  and  the  other  reformers,  that 
Rome  had  fallen  dawn  and  worshipped 
idols  :  she  was  a  fallen  star, — an  apos- 
tate church. 

Our  reasons  for  deviating  here  from 
the  commonly  received  interpretation, 
will  be  given  more  fully  when  we  come 
to  treat  of  the  third  great  period,  (chap, 
xviii.)  whose  ministers  will  take  up  this 
very  burden  of  Babylon. 

This  simultaneous  origin,  without  pri- 
vity or  concert,  ought  to  be  viewed  at 
least  as  a  striking  providence  and  evi- 
dence that  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  in 
the  hearts  of  these  two  noble  asserters 
of  true  doctrines,  although  they  were 
mutually  ignorant  of  each  other. 

The  reason  of  this  great  providential 
developement, — the  immediate  procuring 
cause  of  the  terrible  rebuke  which  Rome 
now  receives,  is  said  to  be  her  exceed- 
ing corruption,  and  her  influence  in  ex- 
tending it  over  the  nations.  "  She  made 
all  nations  to  drink  of  the  wine  of  the 


wrath  of  her  fornications  !"  So  debased 
had  her  clergy  become,  that  they  could 
no  longer  be  tolerated  ;  so  desperate  her 
tyranny,  that  the  yoke  could  no  longer 
be  borne.  God  therefore  raised  up  a 
host  of  fearless-hearted  men,  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  the  corruption 
has  been  checked,  and  the  yoke  of  her 
bondage  greatly  alleviated.  The  Pope 
has  never  since  been  able  to  dictate 
law  to  the  world ;  and  the  vilest  of  her 
obscenities  have  been  very  much  hemmed 
in  by  the  walls  of  her  monasteries  and 
nunneries.  For  three  hundred  years 
Babylon  has  been  in  the  dust, — Rome 
is  the  most  debased  of  all  powers. 

It  should  be  observed,  before  we  turn 
from  this  subject,  that  this  angel  is  not 
seen  to  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  as 
the  preceding  was.  The  Waldensian 
revival  did  not  result  in  an  organic  sepa- 
ration from  the  church  of  Rome.  These 
numerous  and  revived  churches  still  re- 
tained a  visible  connexion  with  the  Ca- 
tholic body,  whilst  virtually  they  were 
entirely  separate.  They  were  practical, 
though  not  formal  dissenters.  But  the 
Reformation  revival  soon  resulted  in  an 
organic  separation  ;  and  hence  this  an- 
gel's locality  is  not  defined  by  the  phrase, 
in  the  midst  of  heaven,  or  the  visible 
Catholic  church.  This  is  true  also  of 
the  third  angel. 

Verses  9,  10.  "  And  the  third  angel 
followed  them,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
If  any  man  worship  the  beast  and  his 
image,  and  receive  his  mark  in  his  fore- 
head, or  in  his  hand  ;  the  same  shall 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into 
the  cup  of  his  indignation  ;  and  he  shall 
be  tormented  with  fire  and  brimstone,  in 
the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb."  We  will 
quote  the  particular  passages,  in  imme- 
diate connexion  with  the  characteristics 
of  these  heralds,  and  thus  determine  the 
locality  of  the  prophecy. 

1.  The  ministry  symbolized  by  this 
angel,  shall  exhibit  the  lion-like  spirit 
of  the  Protestant  Reformers, — "  saying 
with  a  loud  voice."  Clear  and  decided 
language  will  they  utter.  No  timid, 
doubting  state  of  mind,  hesitating  whe- 


238 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ther  to  say  hard  things  against  the 
beasts  and  their  image,  or  to  speak 
smoothly  and  fawningly.  Having  come 
entirely  out,  and  separated  themselves 
from  the  corruptions  of  Rome,  they  will 
habitually  look  upon  her  as  the  "  mother 
of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth ;" 
and  their  language  will  be  the  fearless 
and  honest  exposition  of  their  thoughts 
and  feelings. 

2.  The  burden  of  their  song  is  a  de- 
nunciation of  God's  wrath  upon  the  chil- 
dren of  the  apostacy.  "  If  any  man 
worship  the  beast."  This  regards  the 
secular  beast,  in  which  at  this  time,  the 
dragon,  or  Diabolus,  is  incarnate.  Con- 
sequently, tvorshipping  the  beast,  implies 
the  maintenance  of  the  whole  doctrine  of 
legitimacy, — the  divine  right  of  kings, 
the  doctrine  of  non-resistance,  of  abso- 
lute and  unconditional  submission : — 
that  system  which  looks  upon  kings  as 
the  fountains  of  power,  and  their  con- 
cessions to  mankind,  as  the  original 
source  of  human  rights. 

Another  point  is  the  worship  of  the 
beast's  image,  that  is,  the  Papal  power. 
They  are  guilty  of  this  sin  who  bow 
down  to  the  Pope's  supremacy ;  who 
look  to  him  as  the  head  ecclesiastic  of 
the  church, — as  supreme  in  spiritual 
things.  Thus  all  Roman  Catholics  wor- 
ship the  image  of  the  beast.  "  After  the 
Pope  is  elected,  he  is  pompously  dressed 
in  his  cassock,  rochet,  camail,  a  cap 
of  red  satin,  and  shoes  of  red  cloth. 
Then  he  is  carried  in  his  chair  before 
the  altar,  upon  which  the  cardinals 
adore  the  Pope  on  their  knees,  kissing 
his  foot  and  right  hand.  The  Pope,  in 
return,  gives  each  cardinal  a  kiss  on 
the  right  cheek.  Then  the  first  cardi- 
nal deacon  announces  the  fact  from  the 
balcony,  in  Ihese  words,  '  Annuncio 
vobis  guadium  magnum,  habemus  Pa- 
pain :  I  bring  you  glad  tidings,  we  have 
a  Pope.'  Upon  which  all  the  bells  in 
the  city  are  rung,  the  cannons  from 
the  Castle  Angelo  are  discharged,  and 
music  of  every  kind  resounds  through- 
out Rome." 

"  In  the  evening,  the  new  Pope  is 
conducted  to  Sixtus's  chapel,  and  being 
set  upon  the  altar,  is  adored  the  second 


time.  After  some  childish  ceremonies, 
the  Pope  is  carried  under  a  magnifi- 
cent scarlet  canopy  to  the  great  altar  of 
St.  Peter's  church.  There  the  cardi- 
nals adore  him  the  third  time,  who  are 
succeeded  by  the  foreign  ambassadors. 
The  Pope  having  subsequently  blessed 
the  assembled  multitude,  is  then  placed 
in  his  chair,  and  twelve  men,  in  long 
scarlet  cloaks,  support  him  on  their 
shoulders  to  his  apartments.  It  is  a 
Roman  dogma  that  the  Pope's  feet  ought 
to  be  kissed  after  the  same  manner,  and 
with  the  same  respect,  as  the  cross  and 
other  holy  images  are  kissed."  In  con- 
formity to  which  position,  Pope  Inno- 
cent III.  in  his  decretal,  affirms,  "  The 
church  being  the  spouse  of  Christ' 's  vicar, 
brought  me  in  marriage  full  power 
over  all  temporal  and  spiritual  con- 
cerns. ■  The  mitre  is  llie  emblem  of  the 
latter  ;  and  the  crown  of  the  former  ; 
and  they  both  intimate  that  the  Pope  is 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.'''' 
When  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation 
takes  place,  "  Then  the  mitre  is  taken 
off,  and  the  triple  crown  put  on  the 
Pope's  head  by  the  cardinal  deacon, 
who  thus  addresses  him.  '  Receive  this 
tiara,  embellished  with  three  crowns, 
and  never  forget,  that  you  are  the  FatJier 
of  Princes,  and  Kings,  the  Supreme 
Judge  of  the  universe,  and  on  the  earth, 
Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  our  JLord  and 
Saviour:  "  (See  Illus.  Pop.  pp.  532, 
533.) 

Such  is  the  worship  of  the  beast  and 
his  image,  in  all  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries. In  England  it  is  a  little  different. 
There  the  monarch  is  head  of  the  church. 
And  in  this  one  particular,  the  English 
monarchy  is  more  strictly  antichristian 
than  any  other  since  the  days  of  Phocas. 
The  ancient  heathen  emperors  were 
heads  of  the  state  religion,  the  chief 
pontiffs.  But  Phocas  conferred  this  upon 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  ever  since  no 
sovereign  in  the  empire  has  been  head 
of  the  church,  even  within  his  own 
kingdom,  until  Henry  VIII.  assumed 
this  power,  which  the  crown  still  holds. 
This  dependence  of  the  church  on  the 
crown  is  purely  antichristian. 

Another  point  to  be  noticed   is,  the 


LECTURE  XXVI. 


239 


acknowledgment,  less  or  more  publicly, 
of  their  supreme  devotion  to  the  inte- 
rests of  this  corrupt  system  ;  "  they  re- 
ceive his  mark  in  their  forehead  and 
their  hand." 

"  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine 
of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  poured 
out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of  his 
indignation."  A  strong  expression  of 
God's  terrible  judgments  upon  the  apos- 
tacy ;  and  which  we  shall  hereafter  see 
under  the  vials  of  his  wrath. 

"  And  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire 
and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the 
holy  angels  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lamb."  Verse  11.  "  And  the  smoke 
of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever 
and  ever :  and  they  have  no  rest  day 
nor  night,  who  worship  the  beast  and 
his  image,  and  whosoever  receiveth  the 
mark  of  his  name."  This  is  also  de- 
scriptive of  the  agonies  which  will  fol- 
low upon  the  outpouring  of  the  vials  of 
God's  wrath.  We  pass  it  over  until 
that  subject  present  itself  in  its  order. 

Verse  12.  "  Here  is  the  patience  of 
the  saints :  here  are  they  tha't  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith  of 
Jesus."  This  is  parallel  with  chap.  xiii. 
10,  and  need  not  detain  us.  During  this 
period  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  and 
their  active  and  energetic  faith,  will  be 
very  fully  displayed  in  the  sight  of  men 
and  God. 

Verse  13.  "  And  I  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven,  saying  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labours ;  and 
their  works  do  follow  them." 

3.  Another  characteristic  of  these 
preachers  will  be,  their  opposition  to  the 
popish  doctrine  of  purgatory ;  and  the 
doctrine  of  human  merit  or  works.  The 
theory  is,  that  inherent  and  inwrought 
grace  becomes  a  stock  of  grace  with 
many  saints,  which  is  greatly  increased 
by  penances  and  confessions,  and  these 
works  of  supererogation, — works  over 
and  above,  what  the  individuals  need  for 
their  own  justification,  constitute  a  fund 
in  advance,  available  through  the  agency 
of  the  priesthood  as  commissioned  and 
authorized  by  the  Pope  ;  so  that  it  may 


be  drawn  upon  to  make  up  deficiencies 
of  others.  Then  the  souls  in  purgatory 
— a  state  of  suffering,  not  hell,  but  a 
place  of  purification  by  fire,  may  be  re- 
leased and  admitted  toheaven,throughthe 
agency  of  the  priests.  But  this  agency 
must  be  well  paid  for.  A  draft  or  series 
of  drafts  on  this  stock  may  be  purchased 
of  the  priest,  for  a  certain  sum  of  money, 
and  a  certain  number  of  prayers  and 
penances.  Such,  briefly,  is  the  system. 
Now  the  prophet  here  tells  us  that  this 
shall  be  opposed  by  the  preachers  of  the 
third  angel,  who  shall  teach,  that  the 
dead,  those  who  die  in  the  faith  of  Jesus, 
do  pass  at  once  into  a  state  of  blessed- 
ness, owr'  ctgn,  from,  now,  at  once  :  not 
after  the  priest  shall  have  been  paid  to 
release  them  from  purgatory  ;  but  from 
the  moment  of  their  soul's  departure. 
Their  good  works  do  not  precede  them 
in  the  sense  of  merit,  to  procure  them 
admittance ;  but  follow  them  as  evi- 
dences of  their  salvation  by  grace.  The 
moment  they  cease  from  their  toils  and 
sorrows  here  they  are  blessed,  and  their 
uprightness  on  earth  evinces  their  salva- 
tion by  free  grace. 

Such  being  the  works  and  doings  of 
those  symbolized  by  the  third  angel,  we 
are  prepared  to  answer  the  inquiry  as  to 
who  they  are.  And  as  the  third  follows 
the  second,  we  must  look  for  them  sub- 
sequently to  the  Protestant  Reformation 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  We  see  no 
body  of  preachers  and  no  general  re- 
viving of  evangelical  religion,  with  the 
features  of  deep  and  determined  opposi- 
tion to  Popery,  to  whom  the  prophecy 
is  applicable.  The  fulfilment  is  yet 
future  :  but  confining  upon  the  present. 
The  alarm  just  beginning  to  be  sounded, 
and  the  manifest  growth  of  numbers 
and  of  zeal  for  pure  Christianity  in 
Geneva,  Lyons,  Montauban,  Paris,  and 
other  parts  of  France, — in  Britain  and 
Ireland,  in  some  parts  of  Germany  ;  and 
especially  in  America, — these  are  the 
beginning  of  great  events.  This  third 
angel  is  the  body  of  evangelical  minis- 
ters who  now  labour,  and  in  years  to 
come  will  labour  much  more  efficiently, 
to  make  the  church  see  the  connexion 
between  Popery  and  all  who  abet  it,  and 


240 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  terrible  judgments  that  await  it. 
Catholicism  is  manifestly  waking  up 
for  a  last  desperate  effort ;  and  the 
unblushing  effrontery  of  her  emissa- 
ries, is  arousing,  and  will  arouse,  the 
Protestant  world  to  a  sense  of  its  dan- 
ger. The  present  movement  on  the 
subject  of  Popery  will  continue  ;  the 
prophecies  that  bear  on  it  will  be  studied 
more  and  more.  The  fearful  conse- 
quences of  adhering  to  the  despotic 
system  will  be  still  more  clearly  ex- 
hibited before  the  eyes  of  mankind,  and 
the  essential  hatefulness  and  tyranny  of 
the  system  be  held  up  to  the  execration 
of  the  race,  until  the  day  of  Antichrist's 
destruction  shall  come,  and  the  ven- 
geance be  poured  out  that  is  written  in 
the  word  of  God.     In  conclusion  : 

1.  The  stability  of  the  true  church  is 
beautifully  represented  by  a  mountain 
that  cannot  be  shaken  :  and  that  because 
God  is  in  the  midst  of  her.  The  omni- 
potent Redeemer  is  the  arm  of  her  pro- 
tection ;  she  shall  not  be  moved :  and 
though  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  may 
appear  few  and  feeble  in  our  eyes,  and 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world  ;  yet  they  are  a 
very  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can 
number. 

2.  The  true  church  presents  an  enig- 
ma, or  a  paradox, — a  strong  .apparent 
contradiction.  Sorrowful,  yet  always 
rejoicing:  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed: 
weeping,  yet  filled  with  joy  and  gladness 
of  heart. 

3.  The  spiritual  church  of  God's  re- 
deemed are  characterized  by  purity. 
These  follow  the  Lamb  withersoever  he 
goeth.  If  we  would  follow  him  ;  if  we 
would  be  ready  for  our  duties  in  the  trials 
of  the  coming  times,  let  us  study  the  his- 
tory of  God's  martyrs.  We  should  con- 
verse with  the  spirits  of  the  persecuted 
Piedmontese.  We  should  read  the  lives 
of  the  witnesses  at  the  light  of  the  burn- 
ing fagots  that  consume  them.  We 
should  emulate  their  purity. 

4.  It  is  no  part  of  Christian  charity  to 
dress  up  the  monsterof  spiritual  abomina- 
tions in  the  habiliments  of  the  bride,  the 
Lamb's  wife.  True  charity  prompts  to  tear 
off  the  harlot's  mask,  and  expose  her  to 
the  scorn  and  derision  of  the  world.    The 


subjects  of  her  delusions  we  must  pity, 
and,  if  possible,  pull  them  out  of  the 
fire.  But  with  regard  to  the  corrupt 
system  of  Popery,  our  motto  should  be 
that  of  John  Knox,  "  Spare  no  arrows." 
For  the  destruction  of  Antichrist  hasteth 
apace.  His  next  overthrow  will  be  his 
last,  and  the  smoke  of  his  torment  shall 
ascend  for  ever  and  ever.  If  we  would 
avoid  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  poured  out  without  mixture,  we 
must  dash  from  us  the  cup  of  her  abomi- 
nations. 


LECTURE  XXVII. 

Rev.  xiv.  14-20;  xv.  xvi.  1-12. 

"  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye 
gazing  up  into  heaven?  This  same 
Jesus  which  is  taken  up  from  you  into 
heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner,  as 
ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  Thus 
were  the  disciples  accosted  by  the  angel, 
after  the  cloud  had  closed  upon  their 
divine  Master,  and  hid  him  from  their 
sight.  "  Behold  he  cometh  with  clouds, 
and  every  eye  shall  see  him."  The  as- 
cent and  the  descent  of  our  mighty  Re- 
deemer is  attended  with  the  brightness 
of  a  cloud. 

Verse  14  :  "  And  I  looked,  and  be- 
hold, a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud 
one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  hav- 
ing on  his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  in 
his  hand  a  sharp  sickle." 

This  is  the  Messiah,  —  the  Son  of  man, 
arrayed  in  glory  and  terrible  majesty : 
his  crown  of  royal  authority  upon  his 
head,  and  in  his  hand  the  instrument  for 
destroying.  His  field  of  harvest  is  the 
world.  He  is  its  lord  and  ruler :  he  has 
sowed  and  cultivated  ;  and  he  now  comes 
to  reap  it. 

Whatever  questions  may  arise  as  to 
the  particular  part  of  the  great  field,  or 
the  particular  time  of  the  cutting,  there 
is  no  room  for  hesitancy,  as  to  the  per- 
sonage and  the  work  in  general,  which 
he  comes  to  accomplish.  Let  us,  as  be- 
fore on  this  chapter,  make  the  matter  our 
index  to  its  interpretation  ;  and  already 


LECTURE  XXVII. 


241 


we    have   settled    two   very   important 
points. 

1.  The  being  symbolized  by  the  cloud- 
enthroned  personage,  is  the  divine  Re- 
deemer, the  possessor  of  the  field. 

2.  The  general  object  of  his  present 
advent  is  to  cut  clown. 

3.  We  may  further  remark,  that  the 
sharp  sickle  is  the  instrumentality  which 
the  Redeemer  uses  to  execute  his  work 
of  cutting  down. 

Verse  15  :  "And  another  angel  came 
out  of  the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud 
voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud,  Thrust 
in  thy  sickle  and  reap ;  for  the  harvest  of 
the  earth  is  ripe."  Verse  16  :  ''And 
he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his 
sickle  on  the  earth ;  and  the  earth  was 
reaped." 

The  third  angel,  (verse  9,)  we  have 
already  seen,  represents  the  body  of  faith- 
ful ministers,  who,  toward  the  close  of 
the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  an- 
nounce the  downfall  of  Antichrist.  In 
this  verse,  we  have  still  another,  a  fourth 
angel,  emblematic  of  the  ministry  in  the 
true  church.  He  came  out  of  the  tem- 
ple, which,  as  the  figure  of  the  spiritual 
church,  in  opposition  to  the  heaven  or 
visible  ecclesiastical  body,  (chap.  xi.  19,) 
stands  open.  This  fourth  angel  must 
therefore  be  the  faithful  ministry  of  God, 
engaged  in  another  part  of  the  Master's 
work.  We  accordingly  see  that  their 
action  is  different  from  that  of  the  third : 
he  announced  the  fact  of  Babylon's  fall 
as  just  at  hand  ;  this  angel,  in  view  of 
that  proximity,  cries  with  a  loud  voice, 
— the  strong,  bold  language  of  an  un- 
wavering faith  ;  and  the  burden  of  his 
cry  is,  that  God  would  accomplish  his 
work  of  cutting  down.  This  is  the  lan- 
guage of  prayer,  and  this  angel  is  the 
ministry  who  present,  in  the  age  referred 
to,  the  prayers  of  the  church  to  her  glo- 
rious and  exalted  King ;  that  he  would 
accomplish  his  work,  his  strange  work, 
and  bring  to  pass  his  act,  his  strange 
act ;  that  he  would  extend  the  right  hand 
of  his  power  and  lay  the  foes  of  Zion  low, 
as  the  grain  falleth  after  the  harvest-man. 

This  prayer  is  supported  by  two  rea- 
sons ;  the  season  is  come  :  and  this  be- 
cause the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  fully 

31 


ripe.  When  the  souls  of  the  slaughtered 
martyrs  (chap.  vi.  10)  prayed  for  this 
very  same  vengeance,  they  were  com- 
manded to  be  at  "  rest  yet  for  a  little 
season,"  until  all  the  proper  events  should 
occur, — until  the  harvest  should  be  ripe. 
The  prophet  has  arrived  at  that  period, 
and  therefore  now  we  have  the  same 
prayer,  officially  presented  through  the 
ministry  of  the  church  ;  and  it  is  pre- 
sently considered. 

He  thrusts  in  his  sickle,  and  the  earth 
is  reaped.  This  unquestionably  refers 
to  a  season  of  terrible  calamity.  It  is 
the  harvest  of  the  earth.  The  harvest, 
indeed,  might  symbolize  the  gathering  of 
the  wheat  into  the  Lord's  garner,  and 
some  writers  so  understand  it.  Accord- 
ing to  them,  the  harvest  is  a  dispensa- 
tion of  mercy,  a  season  of  spiritual  in- 
crease, and,  consequently,  of  joy  to  the 
church.  But  that  it  rather  refers  to  the 
cutting  off  of  his  enemies,  is,  we  think, 
decided  by  the  fact  of  the  vintage  being 
thrown  into  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  The  vintage  and  the  harvest 
here  are  undoubtedly  emblematic  of  simi- 
lar events  :  and  the  one,  being  unequivo- 
cally a  wrathful  dispensation,  settles  the 
character  of  the  other.  It  is  the  Latin 
earth  that  must  be  reaped,  it  is  the  dwel- 
lers in  it  and  participators  and  abettors 
of  its  policy  that  are  to  be  cut  down. 
Some  great  and  fearful  judgments  of  the 
Son  of  man  upon  apostate  Rome  are 
here  described  ;  of  a  general  and  sweep- 
ing character,  like  a  harvest  cutting. 

Verse  17-20  :  "  And  another  angel 
came  out  of  the  temple  which  is  in  heaven, 
he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle.  And  ano- 
ther angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  which 
had  power  over  fire;  and  cried  with  a 
loud  cry  to  him  that  had  the  sharp 
sickle,  saying,  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle, 
and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the 
earth ;  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 
And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into 
the  earth,  and  gathered  the  vine  of  the 
earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great  wine- 
press of  the  wrath  of  God.  And  the 
wine-press  was  trodden  without  the  city, 
and  blood  came  out  of  the  wine-press, 
even  unto  the  horse-bridles,  by  the  space 
of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  furlongs." 


242 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Under  this  figure  of  a  vintage,  the 
prophet  exhibits  another  great  and  fear- 
ful overthrow  of  the  enemies  of  the 
chosen  church.  The  angel  of  verse 
16,  who  conies  out  with  the  sharp  sickle 
from  the  temple,  most  probably  repre- 
sents the  same  person  who  previously 
sat  on  the  cloud.  His  work  is  the  same 
in  kind  ;  his  instrument  is  the  same  ;  a 
similar  prayer  is  offered  up  to  him  as 
was  offered  to  the  former  ;  and  Jesus  is 
often  called  the  angel  or  messenger. 

The  angel  of  verse  18,  who  comes 
out  from  the  altar,  represents  the  faithful 
ministry,  now  distinctly  organized,  and 
separate  from  the  Catholic  body.     His 
coming  out  from  the  altar  plainly  inti- 
mates his  being  engaged  in  ministering 
in  the  service  of  the  crucified  One  :  it  was 
moreover  represented  as  being  the  place 
of  refuge  for  the  souls  of  the  slain  mar- 
tyrs. This  angel  is  also  said  to  have  power 
over  fire,  rather,  the  fire, — that  is  of  the 
altar.     Now,  fire  is  a  purifying  agent. 
The  fire  of  the  altar,  which   consumed 
the  victim,  represents  God's  eternal  jus- 
tice, as    the   fire  which   consumed   the 
sacrifice  our  Saviour  offered.     The  an- 
gel's   prayer,  therefore,  is   a  call  upon 
the  just  and  holy  ruler  of  the  Lord's 
vineyard,  to  thrust  in  his  sickle,  to  exe- 
cute a  just  sentence,  and  cut  down  the 
wicked    and    apostate    enemies    of    his 
church.     The  reason  in  support  of  the 
prayer  is  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the 
harvest,  though   the  expression   be   dif- 
ferent.   The  maturity  of  the  fruit  marks 
the  time  and  constitutes   the  reason  of 
thrusting  in  the  sickle.     That  is,  when 
a  wicked  generation    has   filled  up  the 
measure  of  their  iniquity,  and  made  it 
manifest  that  farther  forbearance  yields 
no  hope  of  reformation,  then  it  is  time 
that  the  avenging  hand  of  God  should 
be  stretched  forth,  and  the  glory  of  his 
moral  government,  vindicated  in  the  in- 
fliction   of  merited   punishment.      This 
period   has  arrived  ;  and  the   sickle  of 
God's  judgment  is  thrust  in ;  the  clus- 
ters of  the  great  vineyard  are  gathered 
and  thrown  into  the  wine-press  of  God's 
wrath  ;  the  apostate  Roman  church,  and 
the  despotic  Roman  state,  have  re-ex- 
hausted the  cup  of  God's  forbearance. 


For  many  centuries  he  has  borne  with 
them  ;  and  now,  for  the  glory  of  his 
government,  and  the  rescue  of  his  op- 
pressed heritage,  he  casts  them  down. 
There  is  a  comparison  here  drawn  be- 
tween the  terrible  slaughter  which  must 
befall  antichristian  Rome,  and  the  crush- 
ing of  the  grapes  in  the  wine-press.  As 
these  are  crushed  beneath  the  foot  of 
him  that  treadeth  in  the  winefat,  so  shall 
these  powers  be  dashed  to  pieces  under 
the  forces  which  God  will  bring  against 
them.  "  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger, 
and  trample  them  in  my  fury." 

Verse  20  intimates  the  place  of  the 
wine-press  and  the  terribleness  of  the 
destruction.  It  is  located  "  without  the 
city," — the  Latin  empire.  The  place, 
therefore,  of  this  last  and  fearful  over- 
throw of  God's  enemies  will  be  exterior 
to  the  western  Roman  world.  It  is 
farther  described  by  its  dimensions,  "  by 
the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hun- 
dred furlongs,"  that  is,  two  hundred 
miles.  This,  it  has  been  observed,  is 
about  the  extent  of  the  Pope's  temporal 
dominions.  But  the  application  of  this 
to  the  Roman  Pontiff's  territory  is  out 
of  the  question  ;  because  palpably  con- 
tradictory to  the  other  point  regarding 
locality:  it  is  within;  but  the  wine- 
press is  without  the  city.  Most  repu- 
table commentators  apply  it  rightly  to 
the  extent  of  the  land  of  Palestine. 

The  terribleness  of  the  destruction  is 
represented  by  the  phrase,  "  blood  came 
out  of  the  wine-press,  even  unto  the 
horse-bridles."  Such  is  wont  to  be  the 
actual  fact  in  great  battles  of  the  war- 
rior, which  are  ever  with  confused  noise 
and  garments  rolled  in  blood. 

The  natural  vintage  commences  in  the 
East,  from  forty-five  to  sixty  days  after 
the  harvest  begins.  It  is  the  last  general 
cutting  down  in  the  season :  and  there- 
fore must  synchronize  with  the  last  of 
the  seven  vials,  for  they  are  the  seven 
last  plagues,  or  strokes  of  God's  judg- 
ments upon  the  antichristian  powers. 

As  to  the  location  of  this  prophetic 
symbol,  Bishop  Faber  appears  to  be  cor- 
rect, and  for  the  reason  just  mentioned. 
The  seventh  vial  is  the  last  tragical  act 
of  the  sealed  book,  and  closes  with  the 


LECTURE  XXVII. 


243 


conflict  of  Megiddo  in  the  land  extend- 
ing "  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  fur- 
longs." But  if  the  vintage  denotes  the 
last  series  of  calamitous  visitations  upon 
Antichrist,  which  will  end  in  his  utter 
destruction ;  and  if,  as  we  shall  see,  this 
series  will  begin  soon  after  the  revival 
of  the  witnesses,  probably,  about  1870, 
then  the  six  preceding  vials  must  be 
already  poured  out. 

We  see  no  propriety  in  Bishop  Faber's 
division  of  the  seven  vials  into  harvest, 
vintage,  and  intermediate.  On  the  con- 
trary, we  think  the  harvest  and  vintage 
include  all  that  remains  of  calamity.  It 
is  a  division  of  the  whole  into  two  parts. 
The  harvest  includes  six,  and  the  vintage 
the  seventh  vial.  Now,  if  the  vintage 
begin  to  be  cut  down  immediately  after 
the  revival  of  the  witnesses,  as  we  sup- 
pose, then  this  vintage  must  include  the 
earthquake  and  fall  of  the  tenth  part  of 
the  city,  (chap.  xi.  13;)  that  is,  the  revo- 
lution which  will  for  ever  detach  Eng- 
land, the  extreme  toe,  from  the  giant 
image.  This  being  the  commencement 
of  the  vintage,  A.  D.  1870,  if  we  deduct 
from  it  the  medium  space  between  the 
close  of  the  natural  harvest  and  the 
opening  of  the  vintage,  viz.  forty-five 
days,  it  will  bring  us  back  to  the  year 
1825,  when  the  Ottoman  emperor  was 
in  course  of  being  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge the  independence  of  Greece.  Let 
us,  however,  not  anticipate,  but  proceed; 
and  let  the  facts  collated  with  the  pro- 
phecy, evince  the  correctness  of  the 
opinion,  that  the  first  six  vials  are  in- 
cluded in  the  harvest,  and  the  last  under 
the  vintage  of  God's  wrath. 

Chap.  xv0  1-8.  This  exhibits  the  ar- 
rangements preparatory  to  the  pouring 
out  of  the  vials.  "  And  I  saw  another 
sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvellous, 
seven  angels  having  the  seven  last 
plagues;-  for  in  them  is  filled  up  the 
wrath  of  God."  A  great  sign  :  the 
vision  is,  therefore,  symbolical;  not  to 
be  understood  literally.  The  angels  are 
God's  agents  for  executing  his  wrath,  by 
inflicting  his  plagues  upon  the  world. 
"  For  by  them  is  completed  the  ven- 
geance of  God."  Our  English  transla- 
tion is  not  the  most  happy  here.     It  is 


manifestly  drawn  from  the  notion  of  vials 
afterwards  bi-ought  forward  :  as  it  pre- 
sents the  idea  of  filling  up  a  cup,  vessel, 
or  vial.  This,  however,  is  not  the  force 
of  the  original, — iv  aureus  eVsXstfAr)  o  Oujxoj 
rou  ©sou — "  by  them  is  completed  ox  fin- 
ished the  vengeance  of  God  :"  in  regard 
to  the  antichristian  power,  they  are  the 
completion  or  finishing  of  God's  work 
of  vengeance;  by  them  will  it  be  utterly 
destroyed.  The  great  image  will  be  re- 
duced to  impalpable  powder,  and  dissi- 
pated and  lost  for  ever. 

"  And  I  saw,  as  it  were,  a  sea  of 
glass  mingled  with  fire  :  and  them  that 
had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast, 
and  over  his  image,  and  over  his  mark, 
and  over  the  number  of  his  name,  stand 
on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of 
God.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses, 
the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the 
Lamb,  saying,  Great  and  marvellous  are 
thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty ;  just 
and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of 
saints.  Who  shall  not  hear  thee,  O 
Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name  ?  for  thou 
only  art  holy  ;  for  all  nations  shall  come 
and  worship  before  thee  ;  for  thy  judg- 
ments are  made  manifest." 

The  discovery  of  artificial  glass, — for 
it  can  scarcely  be  called  an  invention, — is 
generally  referred  to  the  fourth  century 
before  Christ.  It  is  highly  probable, 
that  with  all  the  boasts  of  modern  im- 
provement, we  are  yet  far  behind  the 
ancients,  in  the  more  splendid  produc- 
tions of  this  article  ;  though  we  outstrip 
them  in  extending  its  utility.  During 
the  lifetime  of  John,  and  some  forty 
years  before  he  wrote  this  book,  Nero 
paid  a  sum  equal  to  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  two  large 
glass  vases  ;  carved  and  embossed  in  a 
style  superior  to  any  thing  known  in 
modern  days.  The  ancient  methods  of 
colouring  glass  are  probably  not  yet 
fully  recovered.  The  brilliancy,  variety, 
and  splendour  of  its  hues  made  it  a 
matter  of  luxury,  attainable  only  by  the 
very  wealthy.  Hence  the  propriety  and 
force  of  the  expression  before  us.  The 
apostle  saw  the  saints  and  martyrs  of 
God,  who  had  gained  a  victory  over  the 
powers  of  antichristian  Rome,  standing 


244 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


on  a  sea  of  glass,  variegated  •  with  the 
brilliancy  of  flaming  fire.  A  few  years 
previously,  the  two  glass  vases  pur- 
chased by  Nero,  were  the  admiration  of 
the  empire.  Now  the  pavement  beneath 
the  saints'  feet  shines, — wide  as  the  land 
and  broad  as  the  sea,  with  a  splendour 
that  eclipses  the  vases  of  the  imperial 
palace.  What  a  forcible  symbol  of  the 
moral  beauty  and  grandeur  of  God's 
redeemed  church!  They  plant  their  feet 
on  all  that  is  deemed  most  valuable  in 
the  empires  of  this  world. 

The  posture  of  this  glorious  company, 
is  that  of  a  choir,  prepared  to  celebrate 
the  high  praises  of  their  mighty  Re- 
deemer,— "  having  the  harps  of  God." 

Again,  we  must  notice  the  matter  of 
their  triumph : — the  song  of  Moses.  The 
reference  doubtless  is  to  the  triumphal 
procession,  on  the  occasion  of  the  over- 
throw of  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the 
Red  Sea ;  when  Miriam  and  all  the 
women  took  timbrels  and  went  out  in 
solemn  and  grave  procession, — unhap- 
pily translated  dances, — and  threw  back 
to  the  male  procession,  in  tones  of  ex- 
quisite sweetness  and  of  thrilling  power, 
the  chorus  responsive,  "  Sing  unto  the 
Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously  ; 
the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown 
into  the  sea." 

The  song  of  Moses  is  one  oT  triumph, 
on  account  of  a  victory,  clearly  and  ma- 
nifestly the  Lord's.  Hence  its  suitable- 
ness as  a  memorial  and  prophetic  sign 
of  the  still  more  splendid  victory  of  the 
same  Almighty  Redeemer  over  anti- 
christian  Rome.     For, 

We  again  remark  here,  that  the  sub- 
ject-matter or  moving  cause  of  this 
triumph  is  the  vengeance  of  God  exe- 
cuted upon  the  wicked  nations  and  cor- 
rupt church  ;  "  for  thy  judgments  are 
made  manifest."  This  renders  it  plain, 
that  the  vision  occurs,  as  to  time,  after 
the  harvest  and  vintage.  It  will  become 
a  reality  when  Antichrist  shall  have 
been  slain,  and  his  body  given  to  the 
burning  flame;  when  the  rider  on  the 
white  horse  returns  to  Zion,  arrayed  in 
.glory  and  bearing  the  spoils  of  a  van- 
quished and  redeemed  world. 

"  And  after  that  I  looked,  and  behold, 


the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  tes- 
timony in  heaven  was  opened  ;  and  the 
seven  angels  came  out  of  the  temple, 
having  the  seven  plagues,  clothed  in 
pure  and  white  linen,  and  having  their 
breasts  girded  with  golden  girdles.  And 
one  of  the  four  beasts  [living  creatures], 
gave  unto  the  seven  angels,  seven  golden 
vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God,  who 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  temple 
was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of 
God,  and  from  his  power ;  and  no  man 
was  able  to  enter  into  the  temple,  till 
the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels 
were  fulfilled." 

The  word  here  translated  temple,  sig- 
nifies, the  dwelling-place,  or  habitation  ; 
and  is  more  especially  applicable  to  the 
most  holy  place,  where  peculiarly  God 
dwelt,  between  the  cherubim.  There  is 
manifest  allusion  also,  to  the  tabernacle 
structure  and  service.  In  this  inner 
apartment  was  the  ark,  containing  the 
two  tables  of  the  testimony — or  the  law. 
This  apartment  is  called  the  tabernacle 
of  witness.  Into  it  the  high  priest  only 
was  allowed  to  enter,  and  that  with 
blood  from  the  alta*r  of  burnt  offerings. 
The  angel  of  the  vintage  (xiv.  18)  came 
out  from  the  altar.  Here  the  whole 
seven  are  seen  to  come  out  from  the 
temple  or  inner  apartment,  from  God's 
immediate  presence,  his  dwelling-place. 
How  clearly  does  this  show,  that  the 
messengers  of  destruction  are  commis- 
sioned of  God  :  they  are  the  ministers  of 
his  vengeance.  From  the  very  mercy- 
seat,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  God  of 
grace,  they  issue  forth  ! 

Their  purity  deserves  notice.  They 
are  arrayed  in  clean  and  white  linen. 
Spotlessly  pure  are  the  ministers  of 
God's  justice. 

Again,  they  receive  the  vials,  or  rather 
golden  goblets,  from  one  of  the  living 
creatures.  The  cup  of  the  Lord's  ven- 
geance is  put  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  are  commissioned  and  sent  forth 
from  God's  holy  habitation,  by  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  It  belongs  to 
God  to  take  vengeance ;  but  this  he  will 
do  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  his 
church.  These  prayers  have  long  as- 
cended, and  the  time  being  now  come, 


LECTURE  XXVII. 


245 


they  ascend  with  increased  fervour  and 
frequency  from  the  lips  of  the  Protestant 
ministry  ;  and  thus  they,  as  it  were, 
deliver  the  golden  goblets  into  the  hands 
of  those  whom  God  providentially  calls 
to  punish  the  apostate  church  and  em- 
pire. 

"  And  the  temple  was  filled  with 
smoke."  There  is  in  this  evident  allu- 
sion to  the  first  erection  of  the  tabernacle 
and  dedication  of  the  temple  of  Solomon, 
when  the  brightness  of  the  Shekinah 
was  so  dazzling,  that  human  eyes  could 
not  steadfastly  behold  it.  The  sentiment 
of  this  last  verse  then  obviously  is,  that 
the  final  display  of  God's  wrath  upon 
apostate  Rome,  will  be  attended  by  such 
glory  and  terrible  majesty,  as  might 
overpower  our  vision  and  strike  us  blind 
with  the  effulgence  of  its  light.  Men 
will  stand  amazed  and  bewildered  at  the 
grandeur  of  the  scene.  Even  his  own 
people  will  perceive  such  new  views  of 
the  glory  of  God's  justice,  as  will  over- 
awe their  spirits,  and  make  them  shrink 
back,  for  a  little,  from  the  very  bright- 
ness of  his  mercy-seat. 

Chap.*xvi.  1,  2.  "And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  temple,  saying  to 
the  seven  angels,  Go  your  ways,  and 
pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  the  earth.  And  the  first  went,  and 
poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  earth  ;  and 
there  fell  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore 
upon  the  men  which  had  the  mark  of  the 
beast,  and  upon  them  which  worshipped 
his  image." 

Here,  properly  speaking,  begins  the 
third  woe  trumpet.  The  second 
closed  with  the  cessation  of  Turkish 
conquest  in  1672.  Before  this,  how- 
ever, the  material  of  the  third  began  to 
collect.  The  horrible  corruptions  of  an 
apostate  religion  rankling  in  the  veins 
of  the  body  politic  and  ecclesiastic  could 
not  fail  to  break  out  in  some  part  of  the 
body.  Before  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  spirit  of  irreligion 
manifested,  itself  under  the  name  of 
Theism  or  Deism,  or  the  religion  of 
nature.  Many  of  these  were  men  of 
learning,  who,  sickened  by  the  vile 
mummeries  of  Popery,  and  yet  not  dis- 
covering the  true  Christianity  ;  but  real- 


ly supposing  that  the  papal  supersti- 
tions were  the  Christian  religion,  re- 
jected it  entirely.  But  though  there  were 
many  Deists  on  the  continent  of  Europe 
and  in  Britain,  from  the  former  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century  onward,  yet  it 
was  not  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  that  the  poison  began  to  draw 
toward  a  grand  centre,  and  at  last  to 
appear  in  a  huge  chronic  ulcer  upon  the 
body  politic.  Such  is  the  force  of  the 
word,  and  such  the  significant  emblem 
by  which  the  spirit  of  prophecy  repre- 
sents that  system  of  infidelity  which  has 
scourged  Europe  for  the  greater  part  of 
two  centuries.  We  agree  with  Bishop 
Faber  in  the  application  of  the  first  vial : 
except  indeed  that  his  English  blood 
seems  unwilling  to  admit  its  holding  in 
solution  a  due  proportion  of  the  poison. 

The  object  of  this  vial  is  the  earth. 
It  was  to  be  poured  "  upon  them  which 
worshipped  the  image  of  the  beast" — 
upon  the  friends  of  legitimacy,  the  ad- 
vocates of  despotic  power ;  and  the  ad- 
mirers of  the  papal  hierarchy.  Now  if 
we  run  our  eye  over  Europe  and  mark 
out  the  plague-spots  of  infidelity,  we 
will  find  it  in  all  the  kingdoms.  But 
the  virus  of  its  poison  most  deeply  in- 
fected France,  for  there  most  had  been 
done  to  sustain  the  papal  throne  and  the 
despotic  sceptre.  Other  nations,  Britain, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  Belgium,  Austria, 
felt  it  in  diminished  measure;  but  all 
felt  it,  and  do  still  feel  it.  For  we  should 
have  remarked  that  the  vials,  though 
they  have  a  fixed  and  chronological 
order  of  commencement,  do  notwith- 
standing, run  in  part  cotemporaneously. 
Infidelity  still  works — the  corruption  of 
this  fretting  sore  yet  infects  the  nations, 
although  all  the  six  vials  have  been 
poured  out. 

Verse  3.  "  And  the  second  angel 
poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea :  and  it 
became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man ; 
and  every  living  soul  died  in  the  sea." 

Mr.  Keith,  who,  like  too  many  of  the 
British  commentators,  must  find  Napo- 
leon and  French  democracy  in  almost 
every  hideous  figure,  confines  this  vial 
To  the  maritime  wars  of  the  French 
Revolution ;  as  he  applies  the  first  to 


246 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  revolution  of  1793  itself.  He  thus 
takes  the  sea  literally,  which  is  to  aban- 
don all  rules  of  symbolical  language, 
and  to  lead  us  into  interminable  confu- 
sion. We  concur  again  with  Bishop 
Faber,  in  making  the  sea  revolutionary 
France.  There  is  here  a  natural  order. 
The  nations  are  infected,  especially 
France,  with  a  system  of  detestable  doc- 
trines, which  tend  to  the  subversion  of 
all  the  moral  foundations  of  society,  civil 
and  religious.  The  necessary  and  in- 
evitable consequence  is  anarchy ;  and 
the  farther  consequence  is  blood  and 
desolation.  Without  religion  of  some 
kind  man  is  a  fiend,  an  unchained  tiger, 
a  ravenous  hyena. 

Let  us  take  in  connexion,  the 
Third  vial.  Verses  4-7.  "And  the 
third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the 
rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  ;  and  they 
became  blood.  And  I  heard  the  angel 
of  the  waters  say,  Thou  art  righteous,  O 
Lord,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  shalt 
be,  because  thou  hast  judged  thus.  For 
they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and 
prophets,  and  thou  hast  given  them  blood 
to  drink ;  for  they  are  worthy ;  and  I 
heard  another  out  of  the  altar  say,  Even 
so,  Lord  God  Almighty,  true  and  right- 
eous are  thy  judgments." 

The  wars  of  the  French  Revolution 
are  here  designated.  In  their  progress, 
kingdoms,  and  thrones,  and  dynasties, 
were  swept  away  as  the  chaff  of  the 
summer  threshing-floor.  At  least  the 
toes  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  image, — the 
same  as  the  rivers  and  fountains  here, 
— were  sorely  beaten,  and  the  clay  and 
iron  broken  to  pieces.  The  nations 
were  drenched  in  their  own  blood.  The 
republican  eagle,  hovering  over  the  head 
of  the  First  Consul,  pounced  and  preyed 
tipon  the  downcast  nations,  whom  the 
antecedent  infidelity  had  corrupted  and 
rendered  incapable  of  any  other  but  the 
government  of  brute  force. 

By  the  angel  of  the  waters,  we  sup- 
pose is  meant,  the  ministry  of  the  true 
church,  spread  over  the  nations.  They 
ascribe  to  God  righteousness  in  the  midst 
of  these  terrible  visitations  ;  and  point 
out  the  evidence  of  it.  These  nations 
have  profusely  shed  the  blood  of  saints 


and  prophets,  and  "  Thou  hast  given 
them  blood  to  drink,  for  they  are  wor- 
thy." And  if  we  pass  our  finger  over 
the  map,  tracing  the  track  of  crusading 
persecution,  we  will  also  trace  the  track 
of  this  terrible  scourge.  France,  first 
of  all,  and  above  all,  swam  in  suicidal 
blood  ;  because  France  did  most  to  sus- 
tain Papal  persecutions.  Then  the  king- 
dom of  Savoy  drank  the  blood  of  ven- 
geance for  the  Waldensians  slaughtered. 
Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Belgium,  and 
Switzerland,  paid  back  again  the  blood 
of  Zuingle  and  his  murdered  friends. 

But  the  same  wars  which  inflicted 
just  vengeance  upon  the  persecuting 
nations,  by  the  republican  army,  also 
made  provision  for  their  still  severer 
rebuke,  under  the  stern  hand  of  the 
Corsican,  now  vested  with  supreme 
power.  This  is  presented  in  verses 
8,9. 

"  And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  sun  ;  and  power  was  given 
unto  him  to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And 
men  were  scorched  with  great  heat,  and 
blasphemed  the  name  of  God,  which 
hath  power  over  these  plagtes :  and 
they  repented  not  to  give  him  glory." 

Under  the  fourth  trumpet,  we  con- 
sidered the  sun  as  symbolical  of  the  su- 
preme civil  power  remaining  in  the  Ro- 
man senate  after  the  fall  of  the  imperial 
star.  Here  the  sun  is  not  introduced  as 
an  enlightening,  but  as  a  burning  body : 
and,  with  Bishop  Faber,  we  think, 
strongly  represents  the  military  despo- 
tism of  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  Under 
the  tremendous  energy  of  his  adminis- 
tration, France  and  all  Europe  felt  the 
intense  fires  of  military  law,  and  the 
fearful  desolations  of  relentless  war ;  to 
a  degree,  perhaps,  not  to  be  surpassed  in 
any  portion  of  their  history. 

Besides,  these  wars,  and  this  despotic 
sway,  and  all  the  agonies  endured  from 
them,  produced  no  moral  reformation, 
no  return  to  right  principles,  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  God  as  the  governor 
of  the  nations. 

Verses  10,  11  :  "  And  the  fifth  angel 
poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  seat  of  the 
beast ;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  dark- 
ness ;  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues  for 


LECTURE  XXVII. 


247 


pain.  And  blasphemed  the  God  of  hea- 
ven, because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores, 
and  repented  not  of  their  deeds." 

The  beast  is  the  same  secular,  ten- 
horned  beast  of  the  sea,  to  which  Satan 
(chapter  xiii.  2)  gave  his  power  and  his 
seat, — his  throne.  The  throne  must,  of 
course,  mean  the  supreme  civil  dominion. 
This  supremacy  has  always  been  recog- 
nised in  the  imperial  dignity.  Accord- 
ingly, Bishop  Faber  applies  this  to  the 
battle  of  Austerlitz,  on  December  second, 
1805,  and  the  subsequent  humbling  of 
the  house  of  Austria,  and  compulsory 
abdication  of  the  purple,  by  the  emperor, 
August  first,  1806.  It  is  highly  proba- 
ble, had  the  bishop  written  the  note  of 
June  third,  1806,  after  the  battle  of  Wa- 
terloo, and  final  abdication  of  Napoleon, 
he  would  have  included  that  event  too, 
under  this  vial.  The  imperial  dignity 
had  virtually  passed,  on  December  se- 
cond, 1802,  from  Austria  to  France, 
when  Napoleon  was  crowned  emperor, 
by  Pope  Pius  VII.,  in  the  church  of 
Notre  Dame.  But  upon  his  abdication, 
(June  22,  1814,)  it  became  extinct. 
Ever  since,  there  has  been  no  imperial 
head  ;  it  is  now  wounded  to  death.  Dark- 
ness covers  the  Roman  sun.  A  congress 
of  sovereigns  attempts  to  supply  the  loss 
of  the  imperial  unity  ;  but  they  are  evi- 
dently much  embarrassed  for  a  princi- 
ple of  action,  which  will  not  recognise 
the  doctrine  of  representation  and  con- 
federation. They  gnaw  their  tongues 
for  pain.  The  popular  element,  on  the 
one  hand,  is  yet  too  much  infected  with 
infidelity  to  render  a  free  representa- 
tion safe  and  practicable.  Thus  this 
bitter  vial  continues  to  run  out  upon  the 
throne  of  despotism.  The  giant  feels 
his  strength  passing  away.  The  hand 
of  God  is  upon  him,  and  he  knows  it. 
The  little  stone  smites  his  feet  and  toes, 
and  he  feels  them  crumbling  to  dust. 
But  there  is  no  repentance,  no  reforma- 
tion, no  cheerful  and  voluntary  recog- 
nition of  the  true  moral  system,  no 
willing  abandonment  of  power  and  the 
corrupt  and  corrupting  union  of  the 
civil  and  the  ecclesiastial  authorities. 
All  advances  toward  free  government 
are  by  the  power  of  truth  commanding 


public  sentiment,  and  all  in   opposition 
to  the  spirit  of  legitimacy. 

Verse  12.  "  And  the  sixth  angel 
poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river 
Euphrates  ;  and  the  water  thereof  was 
dried  up,  that  the  way  of  the  kings  of 
the  east  might  be  prepared." 

The  sixth  trumpet  summoned  the  four 
angels,  bound  in  the  river  Euphrates, 
and  the  Othman  Turks  and  their  my- 
riads of  horsemen  issued  forth  to  exe- 
cute God's  wrath  upon  an  apostatizing 
church.  The  sixth  vial  announces  the 
gradual  extinction  of  this  same  power, 
under  the  symbol  of  drying  up  the 
waters  of  the  great  river.  Those  who 
are  for  applying  this  to  Rome,  appear 
too  wide  of  the  mark  to  merit  any  refu- 
tation. 

We  have  already  said,  that  if  the 
witnesses  are  to  revive,  and  the  out- 
pouring of  the  vintage  vial  begin  about 
1870,  then  running  back  forty-five  pro- 
phetic days,  the  average  space  between 
the  harvest  and  the  vintage,  we  should 
find  the  time  of  the  last  harvest  vial : 
that  is,  1825  must  mark  the  running  of 
the  sixth  vial ;  when  the  process  of  drying 
up  the  symbolical  Euphrates  must  be  go- 
ing on.  With  this  tbe  facts  correspond. 
In  1817  the  first  movement  toward  the 
freedom  of  Greece,  though  it  was  not 
his  object,  was  made  by  the  revolt  of 
Ali  Pasha,  in  Albania.  In  1821  Alex- 
ander Ypsilanti,  burning  for  the  libera- 
tion q{  his  country,  excited  a  revolt  in 
Moldavia.  His  forces  were  crushed  and 
himself  taken  prisoner.  In  1822  his 
brother  Demetrius  succeeded  in  arousing 
his  countrymen  and  convoking  the  meet- 
ing of  Epidaunus, — the  revolutionary 
Congress  of  Greece.  They  framed  a 
constitution. — provided  for  a  senate  and 
an  executive  council.  These  bodies 
were  soon  organized,  and  Mavrocordato 
became  the  John  Hancock  of  indepen- 
dent Greece.  And  Tripolizzi  and  Na- 
poli  di  Romania,  Missolonghi  and  Ipsara, 
Modon,  Patras,  Navarino,  and  all  the 
Egean  Sea,  proclaimed  to  the  civilized 
world  that  Greece  was  worthy  of  free- 
dom :  and  the  Ypsilantis,  and  Mavrocor- 
dato, and  Colocotrini,  and  Capo  d'Istria, 
Marco  Bozzaris,  and  a  thousand  others, 


248 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


convinced  the  world  by  their  heroic 
deeds,  that  Greece  was  able  to  be  tree. 
At  length  popular  opinion  shamed  the 
European  governments  into  action  on  her 
behalf,  and  England,  France,  and  Rus- 
sia interposed  ;  and  by  the  terrible  naval 
battle  of  Navarino,  on  the  21st  of  Octo- 
ber, 1827,  struck  the  last  blow,  whose 
result  was  the  acknowledgment  of  Greek 
independence.  Thus  the  drying  up  of 
the  Euphrates  was  begun.  The  Barbary 
powers  have  but  a  nominal  connexion, 
and  will  probably  fall  to  France.  Egypt 
has  been  nearly  detached,  but  is  for  the 
present  thrown  back  into  the  stream  by 
an  exterior  force.  Syria,  including  Pa- 
lestine, is  in  a  very  precarious  condition. 
The  Persians  are  encroaching  upon  the 
Turks  on  the  east,  the  Russians  on  the 
north  ;  Austria  watches  on  the  west  for 
her  share  of  the  spoil,  and  England  will 
make  sure  of  Egypt  and  Syria,  with  a 
view  to  connexion  with  the  East.  The 
next  twenty-five  years  will  see  these 
waters  evaporated,  and  the  great  river 
turned  into  stagnant  pools.  The  cres- 
cent must  wane,  little  by  little,  until  its 
light  goes  out  in  everlasting  night. 

But  whilst  the  ambition  and  cupidity 
of  the  great  nations  are  thus  drying  up 
these  waters,  God's  purposes  are  ad- 
vancing. His  end  is  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  restoration  of  the  Jews, — rather 
of  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  to  their 
own  land.  The  common  application  of 
the  latter  part  of  this  verse  to  the  sons 
of  Abraham,  is  undoubtedly  the  correct 
one.  God,  who  gives  us  prophecy,  and 
who  makes  history  to  suit  it,  has  assured 
us  that  the  Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again 
the  second  time  to  recover  the  remnant 
of  his  people,  which  shall  be  left  from 
Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pa- 
thros,  and  from  Cush,  and  from  Elam, 
and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Hamath, 
and  from  the  islands  of  the  sea.  And 
he  shall  set  up  an  ensign  for  the  nations, 
and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
and  gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Ju- 
dah  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth." 
(Isaiah,  xi.  11,  12.) 

That  the  great  body  of  Israel  were 
carried  eastward  is  obvious :  and,  ac- 
cordingly,   this    prophecy    of  their    re- 


turn, mentions  chiefly  the  places  in  the 
great  Euphratean  valley,  to  which  they 
were  taken.  Now  they  cannot  be  re- 
stored according  to  the  promises  of  pro- 
phecy, until  the  Ottoman  power  is  anni- 
hilated, the  Mohammedan  religion  sub- 
verted. To  prepare  for  that  return,  our 
text  assures  us,  is  the  object  of  drying 
up  these  waters. 

Where  these  kings  of  the  East,  or 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  are,  is  some- 
what doubtful.  Sir  William  Jones  ex- 
presses, hesitatingly,  the  opinion  that  the 
Afghan  Tartars  were  a  part  of  them. 
Dr.  Grant  has  shown,  satisfactorily,  that 
the  Nestorian  Christians  are  not  the  Is- 
raelites, but  a  part  of  them.  Other  tribes 
in  the  East  are  clearly  of  Israelitish 
origin.  Many  are  in  Egypt,  and  not  a 
few  in  the  isles  of  the  sea ;  that  is,  in 
countries  to  the  west  of  Palestine. 

Now,  that  God  is  preparing  for  the 
restoration  of  these  to  their  fathers'  land, 
is  plainly  obvious.  He  has  put  into  the 
hands  of  Jews,  in  the  isles  of  the  sea, 
abundant  pecuniary  means.  England 
and  Prussia  have  united  in  establishing 
a  Christian  bishop,  of  Jewish  blood,  in 
Jerusalem,  and  are  about  to  erect  a  ca- 
thedral there. 

Probably,  this  will  result  in  a  quarrel 
between  Protestant  England  and  the 
Turk,  whereupon  England  will  seize  Je- 
rusalem and  Egypt,  and  make  them  pro- 
vinces of  the  British  empire.  But  the 
future  is  God's.  Hoiv  these  things  will 
be  brought  about,  we  know  not.  The 
events,  however,  are  not  among  the  class 
of  contingencies.  God  will  restore  the 
preserved  of  Israel  in  his  own  time,  and 
his  own  way. 


LECTURE  XXVIII. 

THE    JESUITS    REVIVED. 

"  And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs 
come  up  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  For  they  are  the 
spirits  of  devils,  working  miracles,  which  go 
forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  the 


LECTURE  XXVIII. 


249 


whole  world,  to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of 
that  great  day  of  God  Almighty.  Behold  I 
come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth, 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked, 
and  they  see  his  shame.  And  he  gathered 
them  together  into  a  place  called  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  Armageddon." — Rev.  xvi.  13-16. 

A  chief  difficulty  in  the  writing  and 
the  study  of  history  is  to  preserve  the 
chronology  of  simultaneous  events.  The 
mind  of  the  reader  is  so  perpetually 
prone  to  assume  the  occurrence  of  the 
facts  in  the  order  of  the  narrative,  that 
an  effort  is  necessary  to  guard  against 
confusion  of  dates.  Transactions  per- 
fectly simultaneous,  but  differing  only 
in  locality,  must  necessarily  be  related 
successively;  and  this  inadvertently  pro- 
duces in  our  minds  the  idea  that  they 
took  place  at  different  times.  The  same 
is  true  in  regard  to  prophecy.  Simul- 
taneous events  must  nevertheless  be  re- 
lated successively :  hence  the  appear- 
ance of  their  subsequence,  as  to  time, 
and  hence  confusion  results.  Whilst 
the  mystic  waters  of  the  symbolic  Eu- 
phrates are  drying  up, — whilst  the  Otto- 
man Turkish  power  is  wasting  away ; 
these  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs, 
are  proceeding  from  the  mouth  of  the 
dragon,  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet. 
We  have  seen  that  from  1825  and  on- 
ward, there  has  been  a  rapid  decline  of 
the  Mohammedan  power.  Let  us  now 
consider  the  unclean  frogs  of  the  same 
period. 

They  do  not  emanate  from  the  stag- 
nant pools  of  the  dried  up  Euphrates ; 
but  from  the  devil,  the  beast,  or  civil  des- 
potism, and  the  false  prophet,  or  the 
Papacy.  A  few  particulars  will  enable 
us  to  determine  what  these  symbolize. 

1.  The  frog  is  an  unclean  animal, 
according  to  the  law  of  Moses.  "  And 
all  that  have  not  fins,  nor  scales  in  the 
seas,  and  in  the  rivers,  of  all  that  move 
in  the  waters  ;  and  of  any  living  thing 
which  is  in  the  waters ;  they  shall  be  an 
abomination  unto  you."  (Lev.  xi.  9, 19.) 

This  is,  therefore,  a  suitable  emblem 
of  polluting  spirits. 

2.  Their  source  is  indicative,  also,  of 
their  character.  The  agency  symbolized 
by  them,  is  commissioned  and  sent  forth 

32 


by  the  connivance,  concert,  and  advice 
of  this  goodly  triumvirate,  Satan,  the 
civil  despotism,  and  the  Papacy.  At 
the  head  of  this  alliance,  as  to  practical 
efficiency,  is  Satan.  He  has  given  to 
the  beast,  in  his  wounded  and  divided 
state,  his  power  and  talent  for  conduct- 
ing diplomatic  agency;  and  the  spiritual 
power  of  Rome  must  cover  over  the 
whole  with  the  cloak  of  religion. 

3.  They  are  spirits  of  demons, — de- 
mon-worshipping spirits.  This  agency 
encourages  and  enforces  the  veneration 
of  saints ;  they  are  teachers  of  demon- 
ology,  and  prefer  great  pretensions  of 
possessing  the  powers  supposed  to  belong 
to  the  illustrious  dead.     Accordingly, 

4.  They  are  a  miracle-working  agency. 
Whatever  may  be  symbolized  by  these 
frogs,  they  will  practise  miracles,  so 
called,  as  a  part  of  their  system  of  decep- 
tion, and  means  of  success. 

5.  Perhaps  the  natural  habit  of  this 
animal  in  regard  to  the  Untie  of  its  acti- 
vity may  be  emblematic.  It  is  chiefly 
in  the  twilight  and  the  dark.  During 
the  day,  they  are  in  concealment ;  at 
least  not  conspicuously  observable.  So 
this  Satanic  diplomatic  agency  will  work 
chiefly  unseen.  It  will  be  a  secretly 
plotting  body  of  emissaries. 

6.  We  must  notice  to  whom  they  are 
sent, — "  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth." 
These  sly  agents  will  find  their  way 
into  all  the  courts  or  kingdoms  within 
the  Roman  earth.  But  further  ;  "  of  the 
whole  world."  This  phrase  is  used  in 
Luke  ii.  1,  "all  the  world  should  be 
taxed  ;"  obviously  referring  to  the  whole 
Roman  empire,  proper  and  provincial; 
and  it  is  undoubtedly  intended  to  teach 
us  that  the  secret  spies  of  the  triumvirate 
will  pass  beyond  the  bounds  of  western 
Europe,  and  practise  their  skill  in  all  the 
governments  of  the  world. 

7.  The  grand  object  of  their  mission 
is  to  gather  them, — the  kings,  the  govern- 
ments of  all  nations,  together  "  to  a  war 
of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty." 
This  instructs  us  that  this  system  of 
agencies  will  "  practise"  upon  the  govern- 
ments, with  a  view  to  bring  about  an 
alliance  against  all  interests  opposed  to 
the  powers  of  despotism.   This  war  here 


250 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


referred  to  is  to  be  attended  by  a  display 
of  the  almighty  power  of  God,  in  so 
signal,  terrible,  and  glorious  a  manner, 
as  to  distinguish  the  battle  with  which  it 
closes  above  all  others.  It  is  "  a  war  of 
the  great  day," — the  day  of  God's  over- 
whelming judgments  upon  the  grand  an- 
tichristian  confederacy. 

8.  But  we  are  informed  that  this  coa- 
lition and  conspiracy  will  not  be  looked 
for ;  it  will  be  sudden  and  unexpected. 
"  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief."  God  is 
said  to  come  in  any  dispensation  of  pro- 
vidence which  he  brings  about  or  per- 
mits. Thus  the  formation  of  this  great, 
extended,  and  secret  combination,  is  his 
coming  upon  his  church  with  a  call  to 
duty  and  trial.  By  coming  as  a  thief, 
is  meant,  his  unexpected  call  upon  his 
people  to  be  up  and  doing. 

9.  The  vigilant  servant  will  meet  a 
reward  correspondent  to  his  vigilance. 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keep- 
eth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked, 
and  they  see  his  shame."  We  are  here 
shown,  that  however  the  great  mass  of 
men  in  tlie  whole  world,  will  be  found 
slumbering  at  their  ease,  and  utterly 
unconcerned  and  incredulous  of  such 
machinations  and  intrigues  as  these 
agents  shall  be  carrying  on,  there  will 
still  be  some  on  the  watchtower.  "  I 
have  set  watchmen  upon  thy  walls,  O 
Jerusalem,  which  shall  never  hold  their 
peace,  day  nor  night." 

Some  commentators  have  found  diffi- 
culty with  this  verse.  They  deem  it 
out  of  place,  for  they  cannot  see  what 
connexion  it  has  with  that  which  pre- 
cedes or  which  follows  it.  Even  so 
learned  a  man  as  Beza  suggests  that  it 
has  dropped  out  from  the  third  chapter, 
after  verse  18.  Bishop  Newton,  although 
he  rejects  Beza's  suggestion,  seems  to 
think  this  verse  not  in  its  proper  posi- 
tion. But  let  us  not  attempt  to  improve 
the  Bible.  Its  author  knew  where  to 
throw  in  a  caution  of  this  kind.  He 
knew  that  the  great  body  of  men,  and 
even  of  Christians,  at  the  period  here 
referred  to,  would  be  slow  to  believe  in 
such  a  union  as  the  agents  of  the  devil, 
the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  would  be 
sent   out   to   effect ;  and  threw  in  this 


important  passage,  to  catch  the  eye  of 
his  own  peculiar  agents  whom  he  would 
raise  up  to  counteract  the  machinations 
of  the  Satanic  diplomacy. 

10.  The  success  of  their  mission  is 
next  to  be  observed.  Verse  18  :  "  And 
he  gathered  them  together  in  a  place, 
called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  Arma- 
geddon." A  difficulty  arises  here  in 
regard  to  the  verb  being  singular, — he 
gathered  them.  We  should  naturally 
refer  the  action  to  the  three  unclean 
spirits  who  were  sent  forth  to  gather 
them.  Some  account  for  this  change 
from  the  plural  number,  by  following 
the  Syriac  translation,  which,  assuming 
an  alteration  in  one  letter  of  the  Greek 
word,  gives  the  sense  in  the  plural, — 
they  gathered.  But  for  this  there  is  no 
authority  whatever.  The  prime  mover 
in  this  unholy  mission  is  Diabolus,  who 
gave  his  power  to  both  the  beast  and  the 
Papacy;  and,  therefore,  the  dropping  of 
the  plural,  and  the  adopting  of  the  sin- 
gular form  of  expression.  He,  the  grand 
moving  power  in  all  these  operations, 
collected  together  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
or  western  empire,  and  of  the  whole 
world,  or  those  included  in  the  eastern 
also,  i 

Let  us,  before  we  designate  the  locality, 
apply  the  symbols.  The  preceding  re- 
marks leave  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the 
general  agency  referred  to.  It  can  be 
none  other  than  the  various  means  now 
in  operation  for  the  dissemination  of 
Popery  throughout  Europe,  and  the  en- 
tire world.  The  three  principal  regular 
orders  may  be  represented  by  the  num- 
ber three,  the  Franciscans,  the  Domini- 
cans, and  the  Jesuits.  Perhaps  this  is 
only  intended  as  a  sign  of  completeness, 
— a  perfect  system  of  agents:  or  proba- 
bly, the  number  is  incidental,  as  merely 
alluding  to  their  source.  We  will  note 
the  characteristics. 

1.  The  polluting  influences  of  Popery 
are  proverbial  :  in  a  moral,  religious, 
and  political  sense.  The  celibacy  of  the 
clergy  as  well  regular  as  secular,  has 
been,  and  now  is,  a  means  and  occasion 
of  most  horrible  impurities.  The  con- 
fessional is  the  scene  of  such  practices, 
that  delicacy  will    scarcely  permit   an 


LECTURE  XXVIII. 


251 


allusion  to  them.  We  have  already 
seen  how  an  oath  can  be  dispensed  with 
in  order  to  serve  a  political  turn  in 
favour  of  the  corrupt  church :  and,  as 
formerly  observed,  for  unprincipled  chi- 
canery there  is  not  another  word  in  the 
English  language  so  expressive  as  Je- 
suitism. 

2.  That  the  vastly  increased  efforts 
of  Roman  Catholicism,  now  in  progress, 
are  put  forth  by  Diabolus,  the  civil  des- 
potism and  the  Papal  power,  is  no  secret. 
And  it  is  worthy  of  special  remark,  that 
the  formal  restoration  of  the  Jesuits  in 
1814,  and  their  gradual  introduction  to 
notice  and  confidence,  runs  parallel  with 
the  waning  of  the  crescent.  They  are 
now  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
They  are  peculiarly  active  among  the 
political  intriguers  of  the  age  ;  and  their 
missions  ever  follow,  if  they  do  not 
precede,  Protestant  missions.  In  the 
colonization  of  North  America,  they 
pursued  the  Protestants,  and  laboured  to 
thwart  their  proceedings.  So  now  they 
are  harassing  our  missionaries  in  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  and  in  every  quarter 
of  the  globe. 

The  recent  reception  of  Prince  Galit- 
zin  of  Russia,  into  the  Romish  com- 
munion, may  be  mentioned  as  an  indica- 
tion of  their  success  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  Roman  earth.  A  nobleman  so 
influential  in  the  Imperial  court,  can 
hardly  be  supposed  to  have  taken  this 
step  without  the  consent  of  his  master. 
Nor  could  that  consent  have  been  given 
without  a  distinct  expectation  of  more 
intimate  relations  about  to  be  entered 
into  between  the  Greek  and  Roman 
churches. 

3.  These  agents  are  given  to  demon- 
worship, — to  the  veneration  of  departed 
spirits  :  and,  are  not  the  present  Romish 
emissaries  most  active, — do  they  not 
seem  to  be  turning  special  attention  to 
the  re-establishment,  as  it  were,  of  this 
very  kind  of  worship]  Very  recent 
developements  show,  that  to  reinstate 
the  saints,  and  particularly  the  Virgin 
Mary,  in  the  high  honours  from  which 
they  have  measurably  fallen  since  the 
days  of  the  Reformation,  is  now  a  capi- 
tal object  of  Papal  exertions. 


4.  Equally  clear  is  another  point  re- 
lative to  these  unclean  spirits  :  they  are 
a  miracle-working  agency.  Now,  that 
the  various  emissaries  of  Rome  have 
recently  been  emboldened  to  put  forth 
this  pretension  is  notorious. 

The  miracles  of  Prince  Hohenlohe  of 
Germany  are  of  late  occurrence.  Still 
more  so,  an  extatica  of  Italy ;  and  more 
recently  still,  the  fooleries  of  Mr.  Foley, 
a  priest  in  Dublin.  These  things  are 
increasing;  and  the  state  of  religious 
credulity  all  over  the  world,  and  per- 
haps not  less  in  our  own  country  than 
in  some  less  enlightened,  is  well  adapted 
to  encourage  such  pretensions.  The 
human  mind  is  prepared  to  receive 
almost  any  opinion.  The  world  is  pass- 
ing over  from  the  scepticism  which 
characterized  the  eighteenth,  to  the  cre- 
dulity which  characterizes  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  public  mind  is  ripe  for 
the  delusions  of  a  miracle-working  priest- 
hood. 

5.  Secrecy  is  also  characteristic  of 
this  system  of  agency  :  and  can  any  one 
be  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  the  religious 
orders  are  sworn  to  secrecy  ?  We  have 
already  seen  what  the  Jesuit's  oath  binds 
him  to  upon  this  point.  How  adroitly 
was  the  St.  Bartholomew's  tragedy  ma- 
naged,— the  gunpowder  plot, — the  assas- 
sination of  Henry  IV. !  These  are  things 
which  must  be  managed  in  the  dark. 
We  may  surmise  the  power  that  ope- 
rates certain  political  influences,  but  the 
frogs  are  invisible  in  the  clear  light  of 
day :  if  we  attempt  to  drag  them  forth, 
the  pure  waters  of  truth  instantly  become 
turbid,  and  they  hide  themselves  imme- 
diately in  the  pools  of  their  own  pollu- 
tion. 

6.  The  nations  of  the  Latin  earth, 
will,  by  these  agents,  be  brought  chiefly 
or  totally  to  enter  into  an  alliance  for 
the  support  of  religion  and  government: 
that  is,  of  Romanism  and  tyranny.  This 
confederacy  is  now  in  progress.  It  is 
clearly  evident,  that  the  governments  of 
England  and  Prussia  are  moving  in  that 
direction :  and  late  accounts  from  France 
show  a  governmental  movement  towards 
the  oppression  of  the  Protestant  popula- 
tion.   Intrigues  are,  at  this  moment,  ad- 


252 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


vancing  in  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries, 
precisely  similar  to  those  by  which 
Henry  IV.  was  brought  over  from  the 
Protestant  ranks,  and  induced  to  put  his 
conscience  under  the  guardianship  of 
Jesuits  and  Jesuit  morality.  We  may 
soon  expect  to  hear  that  Louis  Philippe 
has  accepted  a  Jesuit  confessor. 

Now,  all  these  efforts  are  directed  to 
the  formation  of  one  grand  combination 
of  the  arbitrary  powers ;  and  will  even- 
tuate in  that  war  of  opinion,  to  which  all 
eyes,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  are 
turned. 

The  place  to  which  these  forces  are 
drawn  together,  next  demands  our  no- 
tice. The  Hebrew  name  here  given,  is 
not  found  entire  in  any  part  of  the  Old 
Testament :  the  interpretation  is,  there- 
fore, doubtful.  The  first  part  of  the  com- 
pound, may  be  derived  from  several  He- 
brew words,  and  having  only  the  Greek 
letters  indicative  of  general  sounds,  we 
cannot  with  absolute  certainty,  deter- 
mine which  of  several  possible  deriva- 
tions is  the  correct  one.  Of  two,  how- 
ever, which  chiefly  divide  the  critics,  it 
is  not  greatly  important  which  we  adopt. 
One  signifies  a  mountain  ;  the  other  de- 
struction. The  place  will  be  named  or 
called  the  Mountain  of  Megiddo,  or  the 
destruction  of  Megiddo.  We  incline,  de- 
cidedly, to  the  latter,  because  it  better 
accords  with  the  sense  of  the  prophet ; 
and  for  the  reason  mentioned  by  Bishop 
Faber,  that  Arma,  is  the  word  used  by 
Daniel,  (xi.  44,)  when  he  describes  the 
going  forth  of  the  antichristian  power, 
"  with  great  fury,  to  destroy  and  utterly 
to  make  atvay  many, — to  devote  religi- 
ously to  destruction.  It  will  be  a  war 
under  pretence  of  religion,  which  the 
dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet 
will  bring  about,  by  means  of  these  un- 
clean agencies ;  and  God  will  return  the 
utter  destruction  upon  themselves,  and 
their  hosts  at  Megiddo. 

As  to  the  latter  part  of  the  compound, 
we  have  little  trouble.  The  first  men- 
tion of  Megiddo  is  in  Judges  i.  27,  where 
the  historian  is  recording  the  instances 
of  neglect  of  the  general  order  or  com- 
mand of  God  to  Israel,  that  they  should 
utterly  destroy  or  drive  away  the  Ca- 


naanites  from  the  land.  "  Neither  did 
Manasseh  drive  out — the  inhabitants  of 
Ibleam  and  her  towns,  nor  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Meggiddo  and  her  towns." 

In  the  same  book  we  have  a  glow- 
ing poetic  account  of  the  discomfiture  of 
the  Canaanitish  forces  by  the  Israelites, 
under  the  command  of  Deborah  and 
Barak.  "  The  kings  came  and  fought ; 
then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan  in 
Taanach  by  the  waters  of  Megiddo  :  they 
took  no  gain  of  money. — The  river  of 
Kishon  swept  them  away,  that  ancient 
river,  the  river  of  Kishon."  (v.  19.) 

Again,  it  is  mentioned  in  1  Kings,  iv. 
12, — "  Baana,  the  son  of  Ahilud,  to 
him  pertained  Taanach  and  Megiddo, 
and  all  Beth-shean,  which  is  by  Zarta- 
nah,  beneath  Jezreel,  from  Beth-shean  to 
Abel-meholah — "  Again,  among  the 
purposes  for  which  Solomon  raised  re- 
venue are  mentioned,  "  to  build  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  his  own  house, 
and  Millo,  and  the  wall  of  Jerusalem, 
and  Hazor,  and  Megiddo  and  Gezer." 
(ix.  15.)  This  proves  that  it  was  a 
place  of  some  note ;  a  fortified  city. 
Accordingly,  when  Ahaziah,  King  of 
Judah,  retreated  from  Jehu,  after  his 
ally  Joram,  King  of  Israel,  had  fallen 
by  the  hand  of  that  avenger  of  Naboth  ; 
"  Jehu  followed  after  him,  and  said, 
Smite  him  also,  in  the  chariot.  And 
they  did  so  at  the  going  up  to  Gur, 
which  is  by  Ibleam.  And  he  fled  to 
Megiddo,  and  died  there."  (2  Kings  ix. 
27.)  At  this  city  also,  was  fought  that 
disastrous  battle,  in  which  fell  one  of 
the  best  kings  that  ever  swayed  the 
sceptre  of  David.  "  In  his  days  Pha- 
raoh-necho,  King  of  Egypt,  went  up 
against  the  King  of  Assyria  to  the  river 
Euphrates ;  and  King  Josiah  went  out 
against  him :  and  he  slew  him  at  Me- 
giddo, when  he  had  seen  him.  And 
his  servants  carried  him  in  a  chariot 
dead  from  Megiddo,  and  brought  him  to 
Jerusalem,  and  buried  him  in  his  own 
sepulchre."  (2  Kings  xxiii.  29,  30.)  To 
this  sorrowful  event  Zechariah  has  re- 
ference in  a  prophecy  relating  to  these 
same  times  of  the  last  battle.  "  In  that 
day  there  shall  be  a  great  mourning  in 
Jerusalem,  as  the  mourning  of  Hadad- 


LECTURE  XXVIII. 


253 


rimmon,  in  the  valley  of  Megiddon." 
(xii.  11.) 

We  are  thus  able  to  settle  the  geogra- 
phical position  of  this  place.  Barak  and 
his  ten  thousand  men  had  encamped  on 
Mount  Tabor.  Sisera,  with  his  army  and 
nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron,  lay  along 
between  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  a 
branch  of  the  Kishon  river.  The  waters 
of  Megiddo,  by  which  they  fought,  can 
be  none  other  than  this  "  ancient  river" 
of  Kishon.  The  city  of  Megiddo,  ac- 
cording to  Professor  Robinson's  esti- 
mate, is  about  twelve  miles  distant  from 
Jezreel,  which  has  given  the  modern 
name  of  Esdraeelon  to  the  great  plain 
that  stretches  from  the  foot  of  Mount 
Carmel  and  the  Bay  of  Akka,  Acre,  or 
Ptolemais,  towards  the  east,  and  parts 
into  three  valleys,  passing  through  to  the 
river  Jordan. 

Professor  Robinson's  account  of  this 
locality  is  peculiarly  interesting.  Having 
given  a  statement  of  the  position  of  Na- 
zareth, situated  about  thirteen  miles 
north  of  Jezreel,  he  proceeds  :  "  After 
breakfast,  I  walked  out  alone  to  the  top 
of  the  hill,  over  Nazareth,  where  stands 
the  neglected  Wely  of  Neby  Ismail. 
Here,  quite  unexpectedly,  a  glorious 
prospect  opened  on  the  view.  The  air 
was  perfectly  clear  and  serene ;  and  I 
shall  never  forget  the  impression  I  re- 
ceived, as  the  enchanting  panorama 
burst  suddenly  upon  me.  There  lay 
the  magnificent  plain  of  Esdrseelon,  or 
at  least,  all  its  western  part ;  on  the  left 
was  seen  the  round  top  of  Tabor  over 
the  intervening  hills,  with  portions  of 
the  little  Hermon  and  Gilboa,  and  the 
opposite  mountains  of  Samaria,  from 
Jenin  westwards  to  the  lower  hills  ex- 
tending towards  Carmel.  Then  came 
the  long  line  of  Carmel  itself,  with  the 
convent  of  Elias  on  its  northern  end, 
and  Haifa  on  the  shore  at  its  foot.  In 
the  west  lay  the  Mediterranean,  gleam- 
ing in  the  morning  sun,  seen  first  far  in 
the  south  on  the  left  of  Carmel ;  then 
interrupted  by  that  mountain  ;  and  again 
appearing  on  its  right,  so  as  to  include 
the  whole  Bay  of  Akka."  "  Seating 
myself  in  the  shade  of  the  Wely,  I  re- 
mained for  some  hours  upon  this  spot, 


lost  in  the  contemplation  of  the  wide 
prospect,  and  of  the  events  connected 
with  the  scenes  around.  In  the  village 
below,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  had 
passed  his  childhood ;  and  although  we 
have  kw  particulars  of  his  life  during 
those  early  years,  yet  there  are  certain 
features  of  nature  which  meet  our  eyes 
now,  just  as  they  once  met  his.  He 
must  have  often  visited  the  fountain 
near  which  we  had  pitched  our  tent ; 
his  feet  must  often  have  wandered  over 
the  adjacent  hills ;  and  his  eyes,  doubt- 
less, have  gazed  upon  the  splendid  pros- 
pect from  this  very  spot.  Here  the 
Prince  of  peace  looked  down  upon  the 
great  plain,  where  the  din  of  battles  had 
so  oft  rolled,  and  the  garments  of  the 
warrior  been  dyed  in  blood  ;  and  he 
looked  out  too,  upon  that  sea,  over 
which  the  swift  ships  were  to  bear  the 
tidings  of  his  salvation  to  nations  and  to 
continents  then  unknown.  How  has  the 
moral  aspect  of  things  been  changed  ! 
Battles  and  bloodshed  have  indeed  not 
ceased  to  desolate  this  unhappy  country, 
and  gross  darkness  now  covers  the 
people ;  but  from  this  region  a  light 
went  forth,  which  has  enlightened  the 
world  and  unveiled  new  climes ;  and 
now  the  rays  of  that  light  begin  to  be  re- 
flected back  from  distant  isles  and  con- 
tinents, to  illumine  anew  the  darkened 
land  where  it  first  sprung  up." 

On  the  same  subject,  another  travel- 
ler remarks  :  "  Here,  on  this  plain,  the 
most  fertile  part  of  all  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, (which  though  a  solitude,  we 
found  like  one  vast  meadow,  covered 
with  the  richest  pasture,)  the  tribes  of 
Issacher  '  rejoiced  in  their  tents.'  In 
the  first  ages  of  Jewish  history,  as  well 
as  during  the  Roman  empire,  the  Cru- 
sades, and  even  in  later  times,  it  has 
been  the  scene  of  many  a  contest.  Here 
it  was  that  Barak,  descending  with  his 
ten  thousand  from  Mount  Tabor,  dis- 
comfited Sisera,  and  '  all  his  chariots, 
even  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron,  and 
all  the  people  that  were  with  him,'  ga- 
thered '  from  Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles 
to  the  river  of  Eishcn,'  when  <  all  the 
hosts  of  Sisera  fell  upon  the  edge  of  the 
sword ;  and  there  was  not  a  man  left, 


254 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


when  the  kings  came  and  fought  the 
kings  of  Canaan  in  Taanach,  by  the 
waters  of  Megiddo.'  It  has  been  a 
chosen  place  for  encampment  in  every 
contest  carried  on  in  this  country,  from 
the  days  of  Nebuchodonosor,  King  of 
the  Assyrians,  (in  the  history  of  whose 
war  with  Aphaxad,  it  is  mentioned  as 
the  great  plain  of  Esdraselona,)  until 
the  disastrous  march  of  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte from  Egypt  into  Syria.  Jews, 
Gentiles,  Saracens,  Christians,  Crusa- 
ders and  antichristian  Frenchmen,  Egyp- 
tians, Persians,  Druses,  Turks,  and 
Arabs, — warriors  out  of  '  every  nation 
which  is  under  heaven,'  have  pitched 
their  tents  upon  the  plain  of  Esdrseelon, 
and  have  beheld  the  various  banners  of 
their  nations  wet  with  the  dews  of  Tabor 
and  of  Hermon."  (Clark's  Travels,  vol. 
i.  303.) 

Such  is  the  stage  pointed  out  by  the 
finger  of  inspiration  for  the  final  act  of 
the  great  moral  drama.  There,  in  full 
view  of  the  spot  where  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation  spent  most  of  his  earthly 
pilgrimage,  will  he  make  bare  his  holy 
arm  for  the  destruction  of  his  foes. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  look  into  the 
detail  of  the  seventh  vial,  which  we 
will  defer  for  the  present,  that  we  may 
turn  our  attention  to  a  lew  thoughts  of 
a  practical  nature. 

1.  Moral  abominations  are  the  ante- 
cedent causes  of  oppressive  government. 
Physical  power  becomes  then  only  ne- 
cessary when  moral  power  fails  to  secure 
the  desired  result.  Were  it  not  for  de- 
linquencies physical  force  would  not  be 
called  in.  It  can  therefore  be  under- 
stood how  despotic  governments  have 
an  interest  in  preventing  the  circulation 
of  the  scriptures,  and  that  measure  of 
religious  training  which  fits  man  for 
self-government.  Therefore  the  bulls 
of  the  Pope  against  the  Bible  Societies  : 
and  for  this  reason,  when  all  the  other 
diplomatic  agents  at  St.  Petersburgh  fa- 
voured the  formation  of  the  Russian 
Bible  Society,  the  minions  of  the  Pope 
opposed  it ;  and,  after  a  few  years  of 
secret  operation,  brought  over  the  Em- 
peror to  oppose  it  also.  Hence,  as  in 
the  case  of  Henry  IV.  of  France,  the 


Jesuits  always  pander  to  the  lusts  of 
princes  when  they  discover  that  they 
can  by  this  means  manage  their  own 
purposes. 

2.  We  may  infer  that  secrecy,  sworn 
secrecy,  in  any  association,  is  prima 

facie  evidence  of  criminal  intention.  The 
stagnant  pools  of  a  corrupt  church  gen- 
der in  silence  the  frogs  of  Jesuitism.  No 
sooner  were  the  secreta  monita  disco- 
vered, and  the  records  brought  before 
the  civil  tribunals  in  France,  than  the 
influence  of  the  Jesuits  was  broken. 
Their  invisibility  was  the  magic  spell 
of  their  power.  By  this  invisibility  we 
do  not  mean  that  the  men,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  their  society,  were  unknown. 
They  were,  before  their  suppression, 
much  better  known  than  now.  They 
were  owners  of  vast  property,  and  the 
individuals  wore  a  dress  peculiar  to  their 
order :  now  it  is  not  so.  They  walk 
among  us  and  we  know  them  not.  By 
secrecy,  therefore,  we  mean  that  their 
plans  and  policy  are  invisible.  All  such 
agency  is  dangerous  to  a  community ; 
and  this  feature  alone,  so  inconsistent 
with  free  institutions,  and  especially  with 
the  openness,  and  candour,  and  liberality 
of  American  systems  of  organization, 
constitutes  good  and  sufficient  reason  to 
suspect  evil  designs.  Honest  freedom  ab- 
hors concealment ;  roguery  loves  to  work 
in  the  dark.  "  For  every  one  that  doeth 
evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to 
the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  re- 
proved. But  he  that  doeth  truth,  cometh 
to  the  light,  that  his  deeds  may  be  made 
manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God." 

3.  Combination  springs  from  con- 
scious weakness.  It  is  only  for  the 
accomplishment  of  works  beyond  indi- 
vidual ability,  that  men  associate.  It  is 
only  because  the  Pope  and  the  other 
powers  feel  their  weakness,  and  conse- 
quent peril,  that  the  present  extended 
agency  is  set  on  foot  to  bring  about  the 
great  confederacy.  The  giant  is  pros- 
trate and  feeble, — apparently  unable  to 
call  his  powers  into  full  action  for  the 
recovery  of  his  almost  lost  dominion ; 
and  the  sorceress  is  again  applying  her 
cup  to  his  lips,  in  the  hope  that  the  magic 
waters  of  her  enchantment  will   again 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


255 


thrill  along  his  nerves,  and  rouse  up  all 
his  dormant  energies,  that  shall  crush 
the  kingdom  of  the  little  stone,  and  leave 
Mystery,  Babylon,  in  possession  of  uni- 
versal sway. 

4.  An  age  that  can  tolerate  Mormon- 
ism,  Millerism,  and  other  such  fanati- 
cisms, may  be  conceived  very  well 
adapted  to  embrace  the  miracles  of 
Popery.  We  are  perpetually  told  that 
the  absurd  mummery  of  Roman  mira- 
cles can  never  impose  upon  a  people  so 
enlightened  as  we  are.  How  delightful 
a  self-complacency  this  !  We  are  too 
intelligent  a  people  to  be  misled  by  Je- 
suit priests  !  No,  my  friends  ;  the  lax- 
ness  of  this  age  in  regard  to  religious 
belief;  the  liberality  falsely  so  called  ; 
the  boastful  pretensions  to  freedom  of 
thought :  these  fit  us  to  become  the  dupes 
of  designing  intriguers  ;  and  irresistibly 
invite  them  to  practise  their  frauds  upon 
us.  We  have  a  vast  population,  to 
whom  all  religious  belief  is  alike;  and 
these  will  embrace  any  doctrines  at  all 
which  interest  or  caprice  may  dictate. 

5.  We  see  how  naturally  indifferent- 
ism  in  religion, — liberal  charity  towards 
all  opinions,  glides  off,  and  makes  reli- 
gion a  tool  of  state  policy.  This  uni- 
versal charity  exposes  itself  for  sale,  and 
demagogues  are  the  bidders.  He  who 
feels  equally  friendly  to  all  religious 
opinions,  can,  of  course,  accommodate 
himself  to  each,  in  turn.  Napoleon  is 
an  infidel  philosopher  in  Paris,  a  Catho- 
lic at  Rome,  a  Mohammedan  in  Egypt. 
This  is  being  "  all  things  to  all  men," 
in  the  Jesuitical  sense  of  the  phrase. 
The  politician  must  be  a  Catholic  at  ma- 
tins, an  Episcopalian  at  morning  service, 
a  Presbyterian  in  the  afternoon,  a  Unita- 
rian in  the  evening,  and  a  Methodist  at 
night.  Few  who  aim  at  high  office,  there 
fore,  ever  attach  themselves  to  any  Chris- 
tian church,  until  after  they  retire  from 
public  life.  They  feel  that  it  might  pre- 
vent their  advancement,  for  they  per- 
ceive that  the  nation  requires  suppleness 
of  conscience,  and  laxness  of  principle. 
in  her  public  servants. 

6.  The  real  incredulity  of  the  igno- 
rant, and  the  scepticism  of  the  knowing 
ones,  as  to  the  existence  of  a  Popish 


party, — a  secret  system  of  agency  to 
bring  about  a  combination  of  interests  to 
sustain  Popery,  is  one  of  the  scriptural 
evidences  that  this  time  is  near  at  hand. 
It  is  to  come  upon  us  by  surprise.  The 
Protestant  world,  particularly  Europe, 
will  slumber  and  not  rouse  up  fully,  until 
the  enemy  have  matured  their  plans,  and 
are  ready  for  action. 

Finally,  the  time  approaches  when 
the  ground  must  be  inspected  for  the  last 
war.  Every  valley  must  be  accurately 
examined;  every  hill  measured;  every 
harbour  on  the  coast  surveyed ;  its  sound- 
ings and  its  bearings  ascertained :  that 
when  the  period  arrives,  the  friends  of 
truth  and  righteousness  may  be  ready  to 
take  their  respective  stations.  And  here 
it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  American 
travellers  have  performed  their  share  in 
this  part  of  the  preparatory  work.  Pro- 
fessor Robinson's  labours  have  aided  this 
cause  much  ;  but  others,  more  at  leisure, 
will,  no  doubt,  enter  more  fully  into  the 
detail  of  this  survey,  so  that  a  complete 
military  map  of  the  country  will  be  in 
readiness.  These  things,  the  God  of 
Providence,  who  rules  the  destinies  of 
nations,  will  have  arranged  in  their  pro- 
per order,  time,  and  place.  Nothing  can 
come  unawares  to  the  Captain  of  our 
Salvation,  who  will  rule  the  storm  in  the 
battle  of  "that  great  day  of  God  Al- 
mighty." 


LECTURE  XXIX. 

THE  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SEVENTH 
VIAL,  AND  THE  DESIGNATION  OP  ITS 
OBJECT. 

Rev.  xvi.  17-21 ;  xvii. 

The  existence  of  vast  multitudes  of 
spirits,  some  holy  and  some  unholy, 
unconnected  with  bodies  like  our  own, 
is  as  plainly  taught  in  the  word  of  God, 
as  it  is  universally  believed  among  men. 
A  professed  Sadducee,  indeed,  may  be 
met  with  occasionally,  who  denies  such 
existence ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 
Sadduceeism   is   any  thing   more  than 


256 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


self-conceit  puffing  up  a  vain  man  to 
seek  singularity  by  speculative  oddities. 
For  after  all  his  efforts  to  believe  in  the 
non-existence  of  spirits,  he  cannot  habi- 
tually repress  his  conviction  according 
to  the  common  faith  of  mankind.  Of 
the  essence  of  spirit  we  are  as  ignorant 
as  we  are  of  the  essence  of  matter.  We 
have  indeed  a  more  immediate  know- 
ledge of  the  former  than  we  have  of  the 
latter.  We  have  the  evidence  of  con- 
sciousness,— the  highest  possible  evi- 
dence of  our  mental  activities,  and 
through  them,  of  the  qualities  of  matter. 
But  we  have  no  knowledge  whatever, 
except  by  the  actions  of  mind. 

Equally  ignorant  are  we  of  the  mode 
of  existence,  activity,  and  intercourse  of 
separate  spirits.  We  know  no  more  of 
the  manner  in  which  spirit  operates  upon 
spirit,  than  we  do  of  the  manner  in  which 
it  acts  upon,  and  influences  matter.  But 
no  philosopher,  no  man  of  sense,  con- 
cludes that  his  soul  does  not  influence 
his  body,  because  he  cannot  describe  the 
modus  operandi.  So  no  man  of  sense 
will  deny  that  spirits,  apart  from  bodies, 
influence  and  hold  intercourse  with  one 
another,  because  he  understands  not  the 
method  of  such  intercourse.  Nor  is  it 
reasonable  to  murmur  against  God,  be- 
cause of  this  ignorance.  It  is  doubtless 
best  for  us  to  be  thus  ignorant,  and  when 
the  necessity  for  it  ceases,  he  will  give 
us  farther  insight.  What  the  Scriptures 
teach  in  relation  to  angels,  good  and 
bad,  we  may  not  delay  at  present  to 
inquire  fully.  One  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject, however,  lies  directly  in  our  path. 
We  are  informed  that  "  the  spirit  which 
now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedi- 
ence," is  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air.  This  reference  of  the  apostle  (Eph. 
ii.  2,)  is  to  a  general  belief  that  evil  spi- 
rits, who  are  under  the  control  of  a 
leader  or  prince,  called  Diabolus,  inhabit 
the  air.  They  are  spoken  of  as  "  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  and  spiritual  wick- 
ednesses." They  seem  to  dread  the 
deep,  for  "  they  besought  him  that  he 
would  not  command  them  to  go  out  into 
the  deep, — or  abyss."  (Luke  viii.  31.) 
This  abyss  we  have  seen  is  the  source 
of  the   Saracenic   locusts,   and   of  the 


beast,  (Rev.  xi.  7;  xviii.  8  ;)  and  into 
it  Satan,  upon  being  bound,  is  cast  and 
shut  up,  (chap,  xx.)  It  is  evident  then 
that  Satan  and  his  subordinate  apostles 
much  prefer  the  air  as  an  abode,  to  the 
abyss,  and  that  for  a  time  they  are  per- 
mitted to  move  up  and  down  therein. 

"  The  seventh  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  into  the  air," — the  peculiar  mun- 
dane abode  of  Satan  and  his  legions. 
Whilst  confined  in  the  abyss  they  are 
harmless.  It  is  when  roaming  at  large 
that  they  exercise  an  immense  influence 
for  evil.  This  figurative  action  there- 
fore teaches  us,  that  the  very  origin, 
source  and  energies  of  that  empire,  which 
the  beast  of  the  sea, — the  civil  govern- 
ment,— and  the  two-horned  beast  of  the 
earth — the  ecclesiastical  tyranny — unite 
in  conducting,  is  to  be  assaulted  and  de- 
stroyed. The  five  first  vials  affected  the 
great  antichristian  power,  in  various  de- 
partments:— the  earth, — the  western  em- 
pire in  general, — suffered  from  the  poison 
of  infidelity  :  the  sea, — the  vast  popula- 
tion,— was  agitated  by  it  into  a  bloody 
commotion  ;  the  rivers,  —  the  distinct 
nations, — all  experienced  this  thirst  for 
blood,  and  were  made  to  drink  it :  the 
sun, — the  military  despotism  of  Napo- 
leon,— scorched  or  wasted  the  men  with 
fire  :  so  also  the  throne 'of'the  beast, — 
the  imperial  dignity,  which  was  sup- 
pressed by  the  abdication  of  Francis  of 
Austria :  the  sixth  then  drTetl  up  the 
mystic  Euphrates,  and  simultaneously 
summoned  the  missionaries  of  Antichrist 
to  assemble  the  nations.  These  vials 
are  all  included  in  the  harvest  of  God's 
wrath.  That  upon  which  we  now  enter, 
announces  the  vintage, — a  cutting  down ; 
still  better  adapted  to  represent  that 
bloody  dispensation  of  wrath,  which  he 
conducts,  who  cometh  "  with  dyed  gar- 
ments from  Bozrah," — treading  his  ene- 
mies in  his  anger,  and  trampling  them 
in  his  fury,  and  staining  all  his  raiment 
with  their  gore. 

This  vintage  vial,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, like  the  natural  vintage,  which  is 
the  last  season  of  the  summer's  labour, 
closes  up  the  period  of  the  church's 
toil.  As  a  vial,  it  respects  the  dis- 
pensation  of   wrath    upon    the   king's 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


257 


enemies ;  but,  as  is  the  case  in  regard  to 
some  of  the  others,  (the  sixth,  for  ex- 
ample,) there  are  concomitant  and  simul- 
taneous events  which  still  more  deeply 
interest  the  church.  Consequently  we 
have  here  a  great  deal  of  detail.  The 
remaining  verses  of  this  chapter  we 
consider  as  a  kind  of  general  summary 
statement  of  the  grand  points.  Let  us 
examine  them  in  order.  The  object  of 
this  vial,  we  have  mentioned ;  it  is  the 
air,  or  abode  of  Satan. 

2.  The  issuing  of  the  voice  from  the 
temple  and  the  throne,  has  a  reference 
to  the  description  in  chap.  iv.  He  who 
sits  on  the  throne  is  God  the  Father,  as 
presiding  over  the  whole.  This  voice  is 
therefore  that  of  God  himself. 

3.  The  word,— "It  is  done."  To 
understand  this,  we  must  refer  to  chap. 
xxi.  6,  where  the  same  expression 
occurs ;  and  it  comes  in  after  the  finish- 
ing of  God's  judgments  upon  the  Babylo- 
nian Antichrist.  It  would  therefore 
seem  to  apply  to  the  same  matter  con- 
tained in  the  former  part,  or  preface  to 
the  little  book  (chap,  x.)  ;  when  the 
angel  commanded  the  apostle  not  to 
write  the  matters  uttered  by  the  seven 
thunders,  but  to  seal  them  up ;  and  gave 
as  a  reason,  which  he  confirmed  by  an 
oath,  that  the  time  was  not  yet ;  "  but 
in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
angel,  .  .  .  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be 
finished. "  -In  the  order  of  events,  the 
time  has  arrived  :  therefore  the  divine 
voice' utters,  "It  is  done."  The  mystery 
of  God  is  finished ;  he  has  revealed  his 
wonderful  designs  in  permitting  this  ty- 
ranny to  rise  up,  and  oppress  his  church 
for  forty  and  two  months. 

4;  There  were  voices,  and  thunder- 
ings,  and  lightnings.  These  are  the 
same  as  in  chap.  x.  3,  4,  There,  in- 
deed, the  number  of  perfection  is  used, 
— seven  thunders:  and  when  we  enter 
upon  the  detail,  (chap.  xix.  6,)  we  shall 
find  them  called  "  mighty  thunderings," 
and  discover  their  application  to  the 
voices  of  triumph  in  the  ranks  of  the  re- 
deemed. 

5.  "  And  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake, such  as  was  not  since  men  were 
upon  the   earth  ;    so   mighty  an  earth- 

33 


quake,  and  so  great."  This  foretells 
that  a  revolution  in  the  kingdom  of 
Satan,  which  he  exercises  through  his 
agents,  will  take  place.  His  dominion 
will  be  completely  overturned  :  a  revo- 
lution such  as  has  not  occurred  since 
the  establishment  of  the  Roman  empire, 
will  result  in  the  utter  destruction  of  this 
power. 

6.  Verse  19  :  "  And  the  great  city  was 
divided  into  three  parts."  This  is  the  spi- 
ritual Babylon.  The  phrase  "  divided 
into  three  parts,"  has  divided  critics  into 
a  greater  number.  Some  understand  it 
literally  as  the  city  of  Rome  ;  some  as 
the  western  empire,  and  suppose  that  it 
will  be  geographically  separated  into 
three  kingdoms  ;  some,  that  there  will 
be  three  factions,  or  national  alliances. 
Neither  of  these  appear  to  us  correct. 
We  are  forced  on  to  new  ground. 

It  is  evident  that  the  great  city  "  which 
reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth," 
has  been  constituted,  or  created,  as  we 
may  say,  by  a  gradual  combination  of 
the  three  powers, — the  religious,  the 
civil,  the  military. 

We  believe,  and  have  before,  we  trust, 
proved,  that  wherever  this  concentration 
occurs,  there  is  the  spirit  of  Antichrist. 
But  it  is  not  the  Antichrist,  until  the 
Christian  religion  is  thus  prostituted  to  the 
purposes  of  tyrannical  rule.  This  apostle 
elsewhere  teaches  us  that  there  were  many 
Antichrists  in  the  world  even  then  ;  but 
he  speaks  of  one  as  the  subject  of  pre- 
vious prophecy,  who  is  pre-eminently  the 
Antichrist.  (It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
our  translators  omitted  the  article,  1 
John  ii.  18.)  This  is  undoubtedly  the 
same  whom  Paul  denominates  "  the  man 
of  sin, — the  son  of  perdition, — who  op- 
poseth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all 
that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  wor- 
shipped." 

Now  this  amalgamation  of  powers 
took  place  gradually,  from  the  age  of 
Constantine  until  the  era  of  Rome's 
universal  bishopric.  Then  the  Anti- 
christ stood  forth  fully  revealed.  We 
believe  that  the  terrible  judgments  of 
God  predicted  in  this  entire  scheme  of 
prophecy,  have  direct  and  main  refer- 
ence to  this  complex,  yet  consolidated 


258 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


power.  The  punishment  of  this  "  mys- 
tery of  iniquity,"  and  remedying  of  all 
its  evils,  is  tlie  design  of  all  these  trum- 
pets and  vials ;  but  especially  of  this 
last.  We  believe,  moreover,  that  the 
cure  which  this  vengeance  is  designed 
to  effect,  will  consist  of  a  dissolution  of 
that  union  which  constituted  the  Anti- 
christ; that  there  will  be  a  complete 
deliverance  of  the  holy  spouse  of  Christ 
from  the  polluting  embrace  of  the  civil 
arm,  and  the  unjust  inflictions  of  the 
sword  ;  that  as  Christ's  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world,  it  must  and  it  will  be  per- 
fectly disenthralled  from  all  earthly  en- 
tanglements, and  stand  forth  a  vast  so- 
ciety of  pure  and  holy  men,  under  a 
simple  spiritual  discipline,  whose  appli- 
cation will  secure  entire  purity  to  its 
members,  and  harmony  in  the  working 
of  the  whole,  without  in  the  slightest 
degree  interfering  with  the  legitimate 
action  of  the  civil  governments  of  the 
world.  On  the  contrary,  it  will  prepare 
and  constrain  them,  by  inward  principle, 
to  the  most  perfect  discharge  of  all  the 
duties  devolving  upon  them  as  members 
of  the  body  politic. 

In  like  manner,  the  events  of  this  vial 
will  teach  man  the  true  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  civil  and  military  pow- 
ers. This  lesson  the  world  has  not 
learned  :  it  never  has  yet  been  under  a 
pure  system  of  moral  discipline,  so  as  to 
place  before  the  minds  of  all  men,  dis- 
tinctly and  clearly,  the  idea  of  moral 
power,  in  contradistinction  from  physi- 
cal force,  governing  the  human  family. 

Now,  we  think  that  the  complete  sepa- 
ration of  these  three  powers  will  take 
place  under  this  last  vial, — that  the  only 
Being  in  the  universe  who  can  safely  be 
entrusted  with  all  three,  will,  in  the  day 
of  his  vengeance,  teach  the  great  city, 
and  the  whole  world,  that  government  of 
man  over  man  must  be  divided  into  three 
parts, — that  He,  himself  alone,  can,  with 
safety  to  his  universe,  wear  the  crown, 
the  crosier,  and  the  mace. 

Such  is  our  understanding  of  this  triple 
division  of  the  great  city.  Such  division 
is  the  death  of  the  Antichrist.  But  should 
any  one  hesitate, — should  he  adhere  to 
the  opinion  that  the  great  city  is  the  civil 


government  on  the  one  hand,  or  the 
church  on  the  other,  then  our  general 
conception  is  also  at  his  service.  For, 
the  partition  of  ruling  powers  into  the 
legislative,  the  executive,  and  the  judi- 
cial, either  in  church  or  state,  amounts 
substantially  to  the  same  thing ;  and 
wherever  this  exists,  there  is  the  home 
of  freedom  and  the  rights  of  man. 

A  glance  at  the  past  history  and  pre- 
sent position  of  western  Europe,  must 
satisfy  the  candid  that  such  a  separation 
has  been  progressing  ever  since  the  Re- 
formation. The  human  mind  has  been 
groping  its  way,  and  its  every  govern- 
ment tends  toward  this  threefold  divi- 
sion. It  is  undeniable  that  the  entire 
interests  of  Antichrist  are  arrayed  against 
it;  and  are  putting  forth  a  desperate 
effort  to  sustain  the  old  order  of  things, 
by  tightening  the  bands  of  allegiance  be- 
tween church  and  state ;  but  all  will  not 
avail. 

"  And  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell." 
By  the  cities  of  the  nations  are  meant 
the  complex  power  alluded  to  before, 
as  it  exists  in  the  kingdoms  of  the  ten 
horns.  The  same  system,  which  before 
the  Reformation  was  much  more  con- 
solidated than  since,  still  exists  in  each 
and  every  kingdom  of  the  ten.  By 
the  falling  of  the  cities  is  therefore  to  be 
understood  their  falling  off  from  the 
great  city, — their  abandonment  of  the 
church  and  state,  —  the  antichristian 
system.  We  saw,  when  expounding  the 
latter  portion  of  the  little  book,  that 
England  will  be  the  first  thus  to  fall  off. 
(See  Lee.  XX.)  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  add,  that  the  word  fell  is  capable  of 
this  construction.  It  is  chiefly  applied 
in  the  Apocalypse  to  prostration,  as  an 
act  of  worship  ;  but  also  to  the  falling  of 
stars,  as  to  the  apostacy  of  the  Christian 
monk.  (Ch.  ix.  1.)  Thus  the  govern- 
ments in  the  different  nations  will  fall  off 
from  the  grand  antichristian  confederacy; 
and  will  ultimately  array  themselves 
against  the  system,  and  will  assist  in 
destroying  the  body  of  the  beast,  and 
giving  it  to  the  burning  flame. 

The  prophet  then  proceeds  to  point 
out  the  vengeance  of  God,  which  will 
overtake   the   great   city.      Verse  19: 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


259 


"  And  great  Babylon  came  in  remem- 
brance before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the 
cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his 
wrath."  What  a  collection  of  epithets 
press  upon  our  minds  the  terribleness  of 
her  destruction ! 

Verse  20  :  "  And  every  island  fled 
away,  and  the  mountains  were  not 
found."  This  refers,  most  likely,  to 
the  entire  remodelling  of  Roman  king- 
doms after  the  concussion. 

Verse  21  :  "  And  there  fell  upon  men 
a  great  hail  out  of  heaven,  every  stone 
about  the  weight  of  a  talent  :  and  men 
blasphemed  God  because  of  the  plague 
of  the  hail,  for  the  plague  thereof  was 
exceeding  great." 

This  imagery  is  manifestly  borrowed 
from  Joshua  x.  11,  where  the  Lord  is 
said  to  have  cast  down  upon  the  enemies 
of  his  people,  as  they  fled  from  the  con- 
quering sword  of  their  pursuers,  "great 
stones  from  heaven  upon  them  unto 
Azekah,  and  they  died  ;  and  they  were 
more  which  died  with  hail-stones,  than 
they  which  the  children  of  Israel  slew 
with  the  sword."  This  verse  is  there- 
fore a  representation  of  the  fearful  in- 
terpositions of  divine  power  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  great  apostacy.  It  also 
teaches  us  that  this  destruction  will  not 
be  a  simple  conversion  of  Papists  to 
Christianity  :  for  they  blaspheme  God  ; 
their  afflictions  do  not  soften  their  hearts, 
at  least,  not  the  hearts  of  all,  and  turn 
them  away  from  their  idolatries.  All 
such  exposition  is  mere  perversion.  From 
no  part  of  the  Bible,  it  is  believed,  are 
we  permitted  to  affirm  that  Popery  will 
be  destroyed  by  the  conversion  of  its 
deluded  followers,  until  after  a  most 
fearful  massacre  of  its  combined  forces. 

Thus  much  for  the  introduction,  or 
general  contents,  of  the  vintage  vial. 
Chapter  xvii.  defines,  in  considerable 
detail,  the  objects  of  these  judgments. 
It  presents  no  entirely  new  conception, 
but  is  evidently  designed  and  well 
adapted  to  shut  out  all  doubt,  and  cut 
off  all  possibility  of  cavil ;  so  that  even 
the  most  careless  reader  may  not  avoid 
perceiving  Rome,  Rome,  Rome  in  the 
whole. 

Verses  1,  2:   "And  there  came  one 


of  the  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven 
vials,  and  talked  with  me,  saying  unto 
me,  Come  hither ;  I  will  show  unto  thee 
the  judgments  of  the  great  whore  that 
sitteth  upon  the  many  waters ;  with 
whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  com- 
mitted fornication,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  have  been  made  drunk  with 
the  wine  of  her  fornication." 

Doubtless,  this  is  the  angel  that  had 
the  seventh  vial  of  judgment.  He  who 
was  commissioned  to  execute,  would  be 
the  most  suitable  to  point  out  the  sub- 
stance of  his  own  mission,  and  explain 
its  object  and  design. 

Dan.  vii.  9-15":  "I  beheld  till  the 
thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  Ancient 
of  days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white 
as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like 
the  pure  wool :  his  throne  was  like  the 
fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning 
fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued,  and  came 
forth  from  before  him :  thousand  thou- 
sands ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before 
him ;  the  judgment  was  set,  and  the 
books  were  opened.  I  beheld  then,  be- 
cause of  the  voice  of  the  great  words 
which  the  horn  spake;  I  beheld,  even 
till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  de- 
stroyed, and  given  to  the  burning  flame. 
As  concerning  the  rest  of  the  beasts, 
they  had  their  dominion  taken  away :  yet 
their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season 
and  time.  I  saw  in  the  night-visions, 
and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man 
came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and 
came  to  the  Ancient  of  clays,  and  they 
brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there 
was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and 
a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and 
languages,  should  serve  him :  his  do- 
minion is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 
shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed." 

This  glorious  scene  is  peculiarly  fitted 
to  suggest  the  awful  realities  of  the  last 
great  day  of  judgment ;  and  so  it  is, 
perhaps,  generally  understood.  Never- 
theless, the  context  shuts  us  up  to  the 
necessity  of  applying  it  to  the  same 
judgment  described  in  the  above  verses 
of  the  Apocalypse.  The  thrones  cast 
down,  are   the   thrones  of  oppression, 


260 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


embraced  in  the  antichristian  confede- 
racy. The  Ancient  of  days,  is  the 
God  of  providence,  arrayed  in  all  the 
grand  and  terrible  attributes  of  the  God 
of  vengeance.  The  destruction  of  the 
beast,  and  the  delivery  of  his  body  to 
the  burning  flame,  is  manifestly  the  same 
with  the  judgment  of  "the  great  whore," 
mentioned  in  the  chapter  before  us,  and 
which  is  executed  in  chapter  xix.  Of 
course,  "the  Son  of  man"  is  the  Michael 
of  chap,  xii.,  and  the  "  King  of  kings" 
of  Rev.  chap.  xix.  The  "  everlasting 
dominion,"  is  the  kingdom  of  the  little 
stone,  which  shall  fill  the  whole  earth. 

2.  We  have  said  that  the  vial  is  a 
judgment.  Perhaps  the  representation 
of  the  same,  under  the  symbol  of  a  vin- 
tage, is  designed  to  show  that  the  visita- 
tions of  God  upon  his  enemies,  have  a 
tendency  to  profit  the  church.  The 
cutting  down  and  treading  of  the  grapes, 
destroy  them  as  grapes,  and  represent 
the  ruin  of  the  wicked  ;  but,  concomitant 
with  this,  is  the  profit  of  the  vintager, 
which  exhibits  the  calamities  of  her  foes 
as  blessings  to  the  church. 

3.  This  judgment  has  for  its  object 
"  the  great  whore  that  sitteth  upon  many 
waters."  Perhaps  no  human  relation 
is  oftener  employed  in  sacred  writ  to 
designate  that  which  the  believer  or 
body  of  believers  sustain  to  Christ,  than 
that  of  marriage :  and  no  moral  virtue 
more  efficiently  denotes  the  holiness  of 
true  i*eligion  than  chastity.  Accordingly, 
all  violation  of  its  laws  are  used  figura- 
tively, to  describe  unfaithfulness  to  God 
our  redeemer.  Idolatry  being  the  great 
spiritual  whoredom,  the  organized  sys- 
tem of  idol-worship  within  the  Christian 
church,  or  rather,  under  the  Christian 
name,  is  designated  b}'  the  spirit  of  in- 
spiration by  the  ungainly  epithet  of  "the 
great  whore." 

4.  The  locality  of  this  spiritual  abo- 
mination, is  said  to  be  upon  "  many 
waters,"  which  is  explained  in  verse  15, 
of  "peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations, 
and  tongues."  This  is  well  adapted  to 
convey  the  idea  of  a  vastly  extended  in- 
fluence for  evil. 

5.  The  governments  of  the  Roman 
earth  here  carried  on  an  illicit  traffic 


with  this  corrupting  sorceress.  As  mar- 
riages, or  promiscuous  intercourse  be- 
tween the  sons  of  God  and  the  daughters 
of  men  before  the  flood,  generated  mon- 
sters of  iniquity,  and  led  on  the  flood  of 
God's  judgment,  so  the  unholy  union  of 
the  powers  which  we  have  been  con- 
sidering, resulted  in  such  evils  as  insure 
the  visitations  of  the  Most  High,  in  most 
fearful  forms,  even  to  a  deluge  of  fire. 

6.  Like  the  victims  of  sexual  impuri- 
ties, this  spiritual  abomination  has  her 
intoxicating  bowl  of  bewildering  delights, 
with  which  she  stupifies  the  inhabitants 
of  the  empire,  and  leads  them  after  her 
as  an  ox  goeth  to  the  slaughter,  whilst 
they  know  not  that  it  is  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  precious  life. 

The  prophet  is  then  carried  in  spirit 
into  the  wilderness,  and  there  a  vision 
is  presented  and"  explained  to  him. 
Verses  3-7,  "  So  he  carried  me  away 
in  spirit  unto  the  wilderness  ;  and  I  saw 
a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet-coloured 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  hav- 
ing seven  heads,  and  ten  horns.  And  the 
woman  was  arrayed  in  purple  and  scar- 
let-colour, and  decked  with  gold  and  pre- 
cious stones,  and  pearls,  having  a  golden 
cup  in  her  hand,  full  of  abominations 
and  filthiness  of  her  fornications.  And 
upon  her  forehead  was  a  name  written, 
Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great,  the 
mother  of  harlots,  and  abomination 
of  the  earth.  And  I  saw  the  woman 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  : 
and  when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with 
Great  admiration.  And  the  angel  said 
unto  me,  Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel  ? 
I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the 
woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth 
her,  which  hath  the  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns." 

This  promised  explanation  is  given 
first,  enigmatically  as  it  were,  to  excite 
a  still  higher  degree  of  wonder.  After- 
wards, the  detail  leaves  no  remaining 
difficulty.  The  astonishment  of  the 
apostle,  arose  probably  from  two  causes. 
The  sight  of  such  splendour  combined 
with  such  pollution  ;  and  the  idea  of  a 
woman,  formerly  used  as  a  symbol  of 
the   true    church,    now   representing   a 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


261 


fearful  persecuting  power,  rioting  in  the 
blood  of  God's  martyred  saints. 

We  proceed  with  the  angel's  explana- 
tion. Verse  8,  "  The  last  beast  that 
thou  sawest,  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall 
ascend  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go 
into  perdition  :  and  they  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth  shall  wonder,  whose  names 
were  not  written  in  the  book  of  life, 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  when 
they  behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is 
not,  and  yet  is." 

Let  us  enter  into  some  of  the  par- 
ticulars. 

1.  It  is  a  wild  beast, — a  beast  of 
prey  :  fit  emblem  of  a  persecuting  power. 
It  is  the  same  essentially  with  the  fourth 
beast  of  Daniel :  that  is,  the  Roman 
Empire,  differing  only  in  some  accidents. 

2.  The  enigma, — "  it  was,  and  is  not, 
and  yet  is," — is  solved  the  moment  we 
fix  the  chronology  of  the  vision ;  or  the 
time  in  which  the  scene  was  presented. 
Now  this  is  when  the  woman  arrayed  in 
purple  is  seated  on  the  beast :  this  wo- 
man is  the  apostate  church  uniting  with 
the  civil  power,  which  brings  us  down 
to  the  middle  ages,  past  the  period  in 
which  the  Antichrist  was  developed. 
Locating  ourselves  in  this  period,  when 
the  empire  was  divided,  we  shall  easily 
understand  why  this  apparently  contra- 
dictory language  is  used. 

The  wild  animal  was, — it  existed  ten 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  years  in  a 
Papal  state :  it  then  ceased  to  be  a  beast 
of  prey  devouring  the  church.  From 
the  days  of  Constantine  until  after  the 
woman  ascended  it,  and  became  its  go- 
verness, it  is  not  a  wild  beast  of  prey  ; 
but  it  yet  is  a  vast  and  mighty  power, 
though  divided  into  ten  kingdoms :  and 
upon  feeling  the  corrupting  influence  of 
the  "  Mother  of  harlots,"  it  becomes 
again  a  ravenous  beast. 

3.  The  source  is  the  bottomless  pit, — 
the  abyss.  Its  origin  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  dragon  (ch.  xii.  3),  who  is 
affirmed  expressly  to  be  "  the  devil,  or 
Satan."  So  also  the  Saracenic  locusts 
come  out  of  the  abyss.  The  "  great 
red  dragon"  has  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns.  These  verses  compared,  as  be- 
fore mentioned,  prove  that  the  Roman 


Empire  was  from  the  beginning  a  diabo- 
lical government,  subservient  to  Satan, 
and  conducive  to  the  spread  of  his 
dominion. 

4.  This  power  is  ultimately  to  be 
abolished, — "  it  shall  go  into  perdition  :" 
not  that  the  people  of  the  ten  kingdoms 
which  compose  the  body  of  the  beast 
shall  be  destroyed ;  but  the  system  of 
tyranny  shall  be  utterly  overthrown. 

5.  The  admiration  of  the  dwellers 
upon  the  Latin  earth  is  next  to  be  re- 
marked. The  angel  characterizes  them 
by  an  exception,  which  implies  that  this 
admiration  of  the  beast  will  be  general ; 
all  except  those  whose  names  were  writ- 
ten from  the  foundation  of  the  world 
in  the  book  of  life  will  be  carried  away 
with  the  mysterious  and  astonishing  ope- 
rations of  the  beast  and  his  rider.  A 
body  there  will  be,  during  this  period, 
who,  understanding  the  relations  of  the 
beast  and  the  woman,  and  their  own 
duties,  will  not  be  thus  borne  away  in 
gazing  wonder  at  pretended  miracles 
and  pompous  parades. 

The  angel  proceeds  in  verse  9  with  a 
word  of  encouragement  to  study  these 
subjects.  "  Here  is  the  mind  which  hath 
wisdom."  Similar  in  force  is  the  Sa- 
viour's admonition  in  regard  to  Daniel's 
vision, — "  whoso  readeth,  let  him  un- 
derstand." 

6.  "  The  seven  heads  are  seven  moun- 
tains on  which  the  woman  sitteth."  These 
are  the  seven  hills  on  which  the  city  of 
Rome  was  built,  whose  names  have  been 
already  given;  and  these  are  also  em- 
blematic of  the  seven  forms  of  govern- 
ment which  have  prevailed  in  Rome. 
Verses  10,  11  :  "  And  these  are  seven 
kings ;  five  are  fallen,  and  one  is,  and 
one  is  not  yet  come,  and  when  he  cometh 
he  must  continue  a  short  space.  And 
the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  even  he 
is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven,  and 
goeth  into  perdition." 

This  passage  is  almost  universally 
applied  to  the  forms  of  dominion  in 
Rome,  which  were  mentioned  in  a  pre- 
vious lecture.  Five  of  these  had  passed 
away  before  this  vision,  and  the  sixth, 
the  Imperial,  was  then  in  power :  the 
Patriciate  was  not  yet  established.    This 


262 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


form  was  substantially  the  same  with 
that  known  as  the  Exarchate  of  Ravenna, 
whilst  dependent  on  the  eastern  emperor. 
"  But,"  says  Gibbon,  "  the  most  essen- 
tial gifts  of  the  Popes  to  the  Carlovin- 
gian  race,  were  the  dignities  of  France, 
and  of  patrician  Rome.  After  the  re- 
covery of  Italy  and  Africa  by  the  arms 
of  Justinian,  the  importance  and  dan- 
ger of  those  remote  provinces  required 
the  presence  of  a  superior  magistrate ; 
he  was  indifferently  styled  the  exarch, 
or  the  patrician  ;  and  the  governors  of 
Ravenna,  who  fill  their  place  in  the 
chronology  of  princes,  extended  their 
jurisdiction  over  the  Roman  city."  The 
historian  having  spoken  of  the  transition 
of  this  power  to  the  Carlovingian  race, 
proceeds :  "  The  Roman  embassadors 
invested  these  patricians  with  the  keys 
of  the  shrine  of  St.  Peter,  as  a  pledge 
and  symbol  of  sovereignty.  Nor  was 
the  Frank  content  with  these  vain  and 
empty  demonstrations  of  respect.  In 
the  twenty-six  years  that  elapsed  be- 
tween the  conquest  of  Lombardy  and 
his  imperial  coronation,  Rome,  which 
had  been  delivered  by  the  sword,  was 
subject,  as  his  own,  to  the  sceptre  of 
Charlemagne.  The  people  swore  alle- 
giance to  his  person  and  family  ;  in  his 
name  money  was  coined  and  justice  ad- 
ministered ;  and  the  election  of  the  Popes 
was  examined  and  confirmed  by  his 
authority.  Except  an  original  and  self- 
inherent  claim  of  sovereignty,  there  was 
not  any  prerogative  remaining,  which 
the  title  of  emperor  could  add  to  the 
patrician  of  Rome."    (Chap,  x.) 

This  form  or  head  "  must  continue  a 
short  space."  Accordingly,  in  about 
twenty-six  years,  Charlemagne  was 
crowned  emperor  by  the  Pope,  and  thus 
the  sixth  head  is  revived,  and  becomes 
the  eighth,  although  it  be  really  one  of 
the  seven.  When  treating  the  parallel 
passage,  (chap.  xiii.  3,)  we  had  occasion 
to  say  that  the  wounded  imperial  head 
was  restored  or  healed  by  the  recovery 
of  Italy,  and  its  reunion  to  the  empire, 
under  Justinian.  To  this  we  may  add 
here,  as  not  inconsistent,  that  this 
wounded  head  was  more  properly  healed 
by  the  coronation  of  Charlemagne  as 


emperor.  Verses  12,  13,  "And  the  ten 
horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings, 
which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet; 
but  receive  power  as  kings  one  hour 
with  the  beast.  These  have  one  mind, 
and  shall  give  their  power  and  strength 
unto  the  beast."  This  is  prospective :  at 
the  time  when  John  saw  the  vision,  these 
kingdoms  were  not  in  actual  and  formal 
existence.  They  are  to  receive  authority 
as  kings,  in  conjunction  with  the  beast, 
at  the  same  time  when  the  "  mother  of 
harlots"  mounts  upon  him,  and  he  again 
becomes  a  wild  beast,  or  persecuting 
power. 

We  agree  with  those  who  think  that 
the  one  hour  marks,  not  the  duration  of 
their  power  ;  for  this  would  imply  a  very 
short  period  ;  whereas  the  ten  kingdoms 
have  existed  more  than  thirteen  cen- 
turies ;  but  we  think  the  design  of  the 
angel  is,  to  teach  us  that  the  rise  of  the 
ten  kingdoms,  and  the  return  of  the 
empire  to  its  proper  character,  as  a  per- 
secuting power,  occurred  about  the 
same  time.  Such  is  the  historical  truth. 
The  division  of  the  western  empire  runs 
chronologically  parallel  with  the  growth 
of  the  Papacy,  which  is  sustained  by  the 
civil  arm,  and  influences  it  to  become 
again  a  persecutor  of  the  church.  More- 
over, the  subordination  of  the  ten  to  the 
imperial  monarchy  is  here  noticed  by  the 
an^el.  They  have  received  no  king- 
dom, (/3atfiXsia)  or  independent  royal 
authority  ;  they  are  quasi-kings, — as 
kings  they  receive  authority  at  the  same 
time  in  conjunction  with  the  beast ;  in 
subordination  and  dependence  on  the 
imperial  throne.  Thus  the  western  em- 
pire again  became  ferocious,  is  divided 
and  yet  united,  and  its  strength  and 
power  for  evil  to  the  saints  of  God,  re- 
main deposited  with  the  imperial  head, 
which  is  anointed  by  the  sorceress,  and 
intoxicated  with  her  cup.  How  asto- 
nishingly comprehensive  this  proe-script 
history  !  Gibbon  and  Hume,  Volney 
and  Voltaire,  could  scarcely  compress 
the  historical  matter  of  these  two  verses 
within  the  space  of  one  hundred  octavo 
pages.  The  first  has  actually  spread  it 
over  four  or  five  large  volumes.  Verse 
14,  describes  the  outgoings  of  this  per- 


LECTURE  XXIX. 


263 


secuting  spirit,  from  these  kingdoms, 
against  the  people  of  God.  These  shall 
make  war  with  the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb 
shall  overcome  them ;  for  he  is  Lord  of 
lords,  and  King  of  kings  ;  and  they  that 
are  with  him  are  called,  and  chosen,  and 
faithful." 

The  succeeding  verse,  as  already 
said,  defines  the  locality  of  the  spiritual 
courtesan.  Verse  16,  is  undoubtedly, 
prophetic  of  a  period  more  distant  than 
the  preceding.  "  And  the  ten  horns 
which  thou  sawest  upon  the  beast,  these 
shall  hate  the  whore,  and  shall  make 
her  desolate,  and  naked,  and  shall  eat 
her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire." 
Verse  17  :  "  For  God  hath  put  in  their 
hearts  to  fulfil  his  will,  and  to  agree, 
and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the  beast 
until  the  words  of  God  shall  be  ful- 
filled." 

The  words  of  God  here  referred  to, 
are  the  prophecies  concerning  this  apos- 
tate church  and  empire,  and  the  havoc 
which  they  will  make  in  their  war 
against  the  Lamb :  and  therefore  he 
puts  into  men's  hearts  to  agree,  and 
conspire  together  against  the  Lord  and 
his  anointed  and  his  redeemed,  that  his 
will  to  afflict,  and  scourge,  and  humble 
his  true  church  may  be  accomplished. 
So  he  put  it  into  Pharaoh's  heart  to  op- 
press the  church  in  Egypt ;  and  so  the 
Assyrian  king  was  made  use  of  as  a  rod 
of  correction.  We  have  here  a  divine 
interpreter  to  explain  all  these  historical 
mysteries.  God  wrote  the  record  first, 
and  then  God  himself  made  history  to 
correspond. 

But  again,  there  is  to  be  a  time  when 
these  very  governments  shall  hate  the 
harlot.  This  too  the  finger  of  Heaven 
has  written :  the  facts  historic  are  not 
yet  brought  about.  They  lie  spread 
out  before  Jehovah's  infinite  mind,  but 
a  veil,  which  He  only  can  remove,  con- 
ceals them  from  our  eyes.  Yet  most 
assuredly  the  time  of  their  revelation  is 
not  far  distant.  The  nations  were  in- 
deed partly  aroused,  and  some  per- 
ceived dimly,  the  oppressive  domination 
of  the  sorceress,  and  a  flush  of  indigna- 
tion passed  over  them.  Now  she  is  ap- 
plying her  medicated  bowl  again  to  their 


lips ;  but  when  Jesuitism  shall  have  re- 
vealed its  plots,  and  the  civil  powers  of 
the  world  shall  have  detected  her  true 
character,  their  indignation  will  rekindle, 
and  burn  with  the  fire  of  unquenchable 
vengeance. 

To  cut  off"  all  possibility  of  mistake  as 
to  the  symbol,  the  angel  adds,  verse  18, 
"  And  the  woman  which  thou  sawest,  is 
that  great  city  which  reigneth  over  the 
kings  of  the  earth."  There  was  no 
power  then,  but  Rome,  and  there  has 
been  none  other  since  that  period  to 
whom  this  language  can  be  applied  at 
all.  Every  effort,  therefore,  of  the  Pa- 
pists to  pervert  and  turn  aside  this  con- 
text from  themselves,  is  utterly  futile. 
God  has  rendered  it  so  plain,  that  all  the 
smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit  cannot  avail 
to  create  a  medium  so  obscure  as  to  con- 
ceal the  truth,  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  is  "  the  mother  of  harlots,  and 
abominations  of  the  earth." 

That  Rome  is  meant  here,  is  express- 
ly admitted  by  Calmet.  "St.  Peter," 
says  he,  "in  his  first  Epistle,  verse  13, 
has  marked  it  out  by  the  figurative  name 
of  Babylon.  The  church  that  is  at 
Babylon,  elected  together  ivith  you,  sa- 
luteth  you,.  St.  John,  in  his  Revelation, 
points  it  out  more  than  once  by  the  same 
name,  and  describes  it  in  such  a  manner, 
as  can  only  agree  to  Rome;  by  its  com- 
mand over  all  nations ;  by  its  cruelty 
towards  the  saints ;  and  by  its  situation 
upon  seven  hills.  Rev.  xviii."  (See 
articles,  Rome,  Babylon,  vol.  ii.)  This 
is  candid  for  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
renders  it  the  less  necessary  for  us  to 
dwell  upon  this  topic. 

Permit  us  farther  to  remark,  that  the 
colour  of  the  beast  and  of  the  woman  is 
equally  unequivocal.  Red,  in  all  its 
hues,  has  ever  been  a  favourite  colour 
with  Rome.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
priestly  robes,  and  even  the  very  capa- 
risons of  the  horses  and  mules  on  which 
the  Pope  and  his  cardinals  ride,  are  of 
this  hue.  So  strongly  is  this  distinction 
claimed,  that  it  has  been  made  a  criminal 
offence  in  any  but  a  cardinal  to  wear  a 
red  cap.  Every  traveller  who  attends 
the  great  festivals  of  the  Romish  church, 
at  the  centre  of  its  power,  is  struck  with 


264 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  correspondence  between  the  prophecy 
and  the  living  reality,  as  exhibited  in  our 
day.  This  is  a  chief  reason  why  the 
"  mother  of  abominations"  is  so  careful 
to  conceal  these  scriptures  from  the  eyes 
of  the  people.  She  fears  to  let  them 
have  the  opportunity  of  comparing  the 
language  of  John,  with  the  things  pass- 
ing before  their  own  eyes. 

We  are  called  to  observe  again  the 
decorations  of  this  woman.  How  gor- 
geous,— how  costly, — and  how  imposing 
and  well-adapted  to  deceive  the  unwary ! 
Accordingly,  Roman  Catholic  historians 
themselves,  as  well  as  others,  have  given 
full  and  detailed  accounts  of  various 
splendid  exhibitions  connected  with  the 
important  ceremonies  of  the  church.  In- 
deed, they  boast  of  outdoing,  on  some 
occasions,  in  the  brilliancy  of  their  dis- 
plays, the  most  costly  and  dazzling  caval- 
cades of  the  mightiest  sovereigns.  The 
coronations  of  the  Popes  are  generally 
turned  to  advantage  in  this  way.  "  Alex- 
ander Donatus  hath  drawn  a  comparison 
between  ancient  and  modern  Rome,  and 
asserts  the  superiority  of  his  own  church, 
in  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  religion. 
You  have  a  remarkable  instance  in 
Paul  II.,  of  whom  Plotina  relates,  that 
in  his  pontifical  vestments,  he  outwent 
all  his  predecessors,  especially  in  his 
regno,  or  mitre,  upon  which  he  had  laid 
out  a  great  deal  of  money  in  purchasing 
at  vast  rates,  diamonds,  sapphires,  eme- 
ralds, chrysolites,  jaspers,  unions,  and  all 
manner  of  precious  stones,  wherewith, 
adorned  like  another  Aaron,  he  would 
appear  abroad  somewhat  more  august 
than  a  man,  delighted  to  be  seen  and  ad- 
mired by  every  one.  But  lest  he  alone 
should  seem  to  differ  from  the  rest,  he 
made  a  decree,  that  none  but  cardinals 
should,  under  a  penalty,  wear  red  caps  ; 
to  whom  he  had,  in  the  first  year  of  his 
Popedom,  given  cloth  of  that  colour,  to 
make  horse-cloths,  or  mule-cloths  of, 
when  they  rode."  (Newton,  ii.  220.) 

Again,  she  rides  upon  the  scarlet  co- 
loured beast.  The  rider  governs  the  ani- 
mal that  bears  him.  This  is,  therefore,  in- 
tended to  instruct  us  in  regard  to  the  do- 
mination of  this  sorceress  over  the  west- 
ern empire.     But,   notwithstanding   her 


imposing  appearance,  like  other  courte- 
sans, her  very  efforts  to  render  herself 
attracting  have  written  her  name  upon 
her  forehead, — have  made  it  plain  to  all 
who  have  any  powers  of  perception, 
what  her  true  character  is.  She  wears 
a  threefold  inscription. 

Mystery.  She  puts  in  strong  claims 
to  hidden  knowledge  and  secret  enchant- 
ments. Calmet,  in  his  enumeration  of 
the  Christian  mysteries,  places  among 
them  the  "  real  presence  in  the  Eucha- 
rist,— the  virginity  of  the  Virgin  Mary;" 
and  says,  "  the  word  mystery  in  the 
Greek  is  equivalent  to  sacramentum  in 
Latin.  It  expresses  the  sacraments  and 
mysteries  of  the  Christian  church,  and 
chiefly  the  Eucharist,  which  is  the  most 
sublime  of  all  our  mysteries."  After 
representing  the  apostles  and  primitive 
preachers  as  in  the  habit  of  keeping 
back  and  concealing  parts  of  Christian 
truth  and  ordinances,  and  speaking  of  the 
Pagans  as  doing  the  same  in  regard  to 
their  religion,  he  concludes,  "  But  the 
secrecy  that  was  observed  concerning 
our  mysteries  was  chiefly  founded  upon 
their  excellence  and  sublimity,  which 
made  them  inaccessible  to  the  human 
understanding,  unless  it  was  assisted  by 
the  light  of  faith." 

The  other  parts  of  her  frontal  inscrip- 
tions we  have  already  noticed  sufficiently. 
The  only  thing  that  calls  for  farther  re- 
mark is  her  persecuting  character.  "  I 
saw  the  woman  drunk  with  the  blood  of 
the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  of  Jesus."  This  phraseology 
may  appear  tautological.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  "  the  blood  of  the  saints," 
and  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus," 
must  mean  the  same.  But  it  will  be 
borne  in  mind  that  not  every  saint,  nor 
even  every  one  who  was  put  to  death  on 
account  of  religious  belief,  is  a  martyr 
in  the  specific  sense  of  this  Apocalypse. 
A  martyr  or  icitness  is  one  who  has 
been  duly  called  upon  to  testify  :  and 
the  martyrs  of  Jesus  are  specially  those 
associated  bodies  or  churches  who  bear 
public  testimony  to  his  truth,  and  seal  it 
by  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives.  Private 
Christians,  suffering  indiscriminately  in 
the  crowd,  are  saints,  and  in  a   limited 


LECTURE  XXX. 


265 


sense  martyrs  ;  but  the  martyrs  are  pe- 
culiarly such  as  are  formally  called  upon 
to  record  their  testimony  in  their  own 
blood. 

Already  have  we  seen  "  the  great 
harlot"  rioting  and  exulting  in  the  slaugh- 
ter of  God's  witnesses  :  so  that  it  is  un- 
necessary to  dwell  upon  this  feature  of 
her  character  here.  Our  closing  re- 
mark, after  so  extended  an  exposition, 
must  be  brief. 

1.  We  mention  as  a  truth  indubitable 
where  the  Bible  is  believed,  that  a  revo- 
lution awaits  the  world,  and  is  not  very 
far  in  the  distance  ;  in  comparison  with 
which  all  past  revolutions  among  men 
must  sink  into  insignificance.  This,  if 
we  place  any  confidence  in  him  who  is 
truth  itself,  we  cannot  refuse  to  believe. 
The  special  object  of  it  will  be  to  punish 
the  corrupt  church  and  the  nations  pol- 
luted by  her.  Hence  the  corollary, — 
moral  impurities  must  sooner  or  later 
cause  the  outpouring  of  the  vials  of  God's 
wrath.  The  nations  which  sell  them- 
selves to  any  system  of  falsehood,  will 
meet  the  rebukes  of  incensed  justice. 

2.  The  identity  of  the  "  mother  of  har- 
lots" and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is 
here  so  perfectly  demonstrated,  as  to  exhi- 
bit the  denial  of  it  in  no  other  light  than 
that  of  the  most  abandoned  effrontery. 
The  brazen  sorceress  herself  can  scarcely 
display  a  greater  degree  of  impertinence. 
He  who  disbelieves  must  do  it  in  the 
face  of  the  fullest  and  clearest  evidence. 

3.  Modern  refinement  has  outstripped 
the  Bible,  and  left  its  delicacy  in  the 
shade.  We  can  with  difficulty  bring 
ourselves  up  to  the  task  of  pronouncing, 
even  officially  in  the  pulpit,  the  names 
by  which  the  spirit  of  inspiration  so  fre- 
quently designates  the  great  defilements 
of  the  apostate  church.  The  popular 
sensibilities  are  so  extremely  tender  that 
even  a  side  allusion  to  them  is  deemed 
a  breach  of  decorum.  This  is  probably 
the  case  in  a  peculiarly  high  degree 
within  the  ordinary  walks  of  the  harlot 
herself.  Roman  Catholics  are  horrified 
at  the  name,  and  shrink  away  from  the 
profane  obscenity  of  its  utterance.  This 
is  both  curious  and  natural.  Indigna- 
tion against  a  crime  is  displayed  often 

34 


most  violently  by  its  last  perpetrator  :  it 
assists  concealment.  "  Such  is  the  way 
of  an  adulterous  woman :  she  eateth, 
and  wipeth  her  mouth,  and  saith,  I  have 
done  no  wickedness,"  (Prov.  xxx.  20.) 
Assuredly  this  delicacy  springs  not  from 
the  high  moral  purity  of  the  age.  How 
far  it  may  result  from  the  very  opposite, 
is  a  problem  to  be  submitted  for  demon- 
stration to  the  moralist. 

4.  We  have  here  another  illustration 
of  the  doctrine  that  "  God  worketh  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will," 
and  yet  that  the  executors  of  the  divine 
purpose  are  held  accountable.  God  put 
it  into  the  hearts  of  these  kings  to  give 
their  power  unto  the  beast,  and  yet  he 
punishes  them  for  doing  so.  The  l-eason 
is  obvious  :  they  act  voluntarily;  they 
mean  not  to  honour  God  by  afflicting  his 
people ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  de- 
sign to  gratify  their  wicked  lust.  There- 
fore the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  put 
the  cup  of  calamity  to  their  own  lips, 
and  they  shall  drink  it  to  the  dregs. 


LECTURE  XXX. 

THE    SEVENTH    VIAL. 

PREPARATORY  ARRANGEMENTS,  CONTINUED. 

Rev.  xviii, ;  xix.  1-10. 

The  lion  hath  roared,  who  will  not 
fear  ?  The  Lord  God  hath  spoken,  who 
can  but  prophesy  ?  In  view  of  the  ini- 
quitous and  oppressive  system  depicted 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  how  can  one 
whose  soul  has  been  sanctified  by  grace, 
and  his  understanding  enlightened  by 
the  teachings  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  refrain  from  the  expression  of  his 
indignation  ?  And  if  he  be  also  called 
of  God  to  minister  in  holy  things,  how 
shall  he  not  lift  up  his  voice  like  a  trum- 
pet, and  let  the  church  and  the  world 
hear  of  these  abominations  which  make 
desolate,  and  of  the  judgments  of  Al- 
mighty God,  which  must  speedily  over- 
take the  son  of  perdition.  Should  such 
things  be,  and  such  judgments  be  about 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


to  come,  and  the  true  ministry  be  igno- 
rant of  them  and  silent  concerning  them? 
Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing, 
but  he  revealeth  his  secrets  unto  his 
servants  the  prophets ;  and  surely  this 
revelation  is  not  for  their  individual  be- 
nefit ;  but  for  the  church  :  therefore,  the 
prophets  must  proclaim  the  message. 

Now,  as  the  reasonable  expectation 
is,  so  is  the  scriptural  fact.  This  con- 
text presents  the  action  of  at  least  a  por- 
tion of  the  Christian  ministry,  imme- 
diately anterior  and  preparatory  to,  the 
grand  catastrophe. 

This  is  the  same  angel,  or  in  other 
words,   symbolizes    the    same    body    of 
evangelical    preachers,    referred    to    in 
chap,  xiv.,  who  herald  the  third  glorious 
revival  of  religion.     The  first,  it  will  be 
recollected,  is  the  Piedmontese  revival. 
The  second  is  the  more  illustrious  re- 
vival   of  the    sixteenth    century,    when 
men  began  to  proclaim  aloud  the  doc- 
trine, that   Rome  had   become  apostate 
from  Christianity.     "  Babylon  is  fallen, 
is  fallen."     This  we  intimated  does  not 
refer  to  her  destruction,  but  to  her  dege- 
neracy.    We    then    promised    to   touch 
upon   this   exposition   more  fully.     We 
repeat  the  remark  made  in  the  last  Lec- 
ture, that  the  Greek  word  fall  (iirstfs) 
is  often  used  in  the  Apocalypse  to  de- 
scribe a  falling  down  in  adoration,  and 
for   worship.     Of  twenty-one   cases   in 
the  whole  book,  it  is  used  ten  times  in 
this  sense ;   it  is  also  applied  to  repre- 
sent a  falling  off,  an  apostatizing,  a  for- 
saking one's  position  and   taking  up  an- 
other.    The  stars  of  heaven  fell  (ch.  vi. 
IS), — rulers  forsook  their  stations.   Most 
probably  the  ministers  of  religion   and 
the   church   became    secularized.     The 
fallen  star  of  the  fifth  trumpet  (ch.  xi.  1) 
is  an  apostate  minister  of  religion.  So  the 
fallen  Babylon  is  a  degenerate  church. 
She  has  fallen  from  the  state  and  con- 
dition of  a  true  church,  from  heaven,  to 
that  of  a  secularized  one.    This  doctrine 
the    Reformers   every  where   preached, 
and  it  was  by  this  they  aroused  the  na- 
tions and   themselves  to  look  more  nar- 
rowly into  the  doctrinal  principles  essen- 
tial  to  a  true   church ;  and  with  what 
vigour  they  sustained  their  attack  upon 


her  abominations,  and  with  what  suc- 
cess, the  world's  history  testifies  in  its 
brightest  pages. 

But  however  bold,  and  determined, 
and  vigorous,  and  successful,  their  as- 
saults upon  the  strongholds  of  Roman 
iniquity,  the  third  revival  will  be  charac- 
terized by  "  another  angel  coming  down 
from  heaven,  having  great  power ;  and 
the  earth  shall  be  lightened  with  his 
glory.  And  he  cried  mightily  with  a 
strong  voice,  Babylon  the  great  is 
fallen."  This  angel's  voice  we  now 
begin  to  hear.  He  has,  however,  not 
yet  lifted  it  up  to  its  full  and  command- 
ing tones.  The  subject  of  Rome's  apos- 
tacy  is  only  beginning  to  arrest  the  at- 
tention of  the  ministry.  A  few  peculiar 
characteristics  of  this  ministry  we  will 
notice. 

1.  They  have  great  power,  great  au- 
thority,— (sfoutfiav.)  It  refers  not  to 
their  talents,  abilities  and  understanding 
of  the  subject  of  Romanism ;  but  to  the 
right  and  propriety  of  stripping  t 
harlot,  and  exposing  the  impieties  and 
pollutions  of  her  idolatry  and  oppres- 
sion. It  is  obvious,  that  the  body  of 
Christians  and  ministers  are  not  yet  up 
to  the  line  of  duty  in  this  thing.  Private 
Christians  seem  sometimes  disposed  to 
doubt  the  propriety  of  ministers  attack- 
ing Romanism.  "  There  are  good  and 
bad  in  all  sects,"  say  these  mistaken  per- 
sons ;  "there  are  some  good  Catholics  ; 
we  ought  to  be  charitable !"  But  who 
taught  you  that  charity,  like  the  world's 
love,  is  blind  ?  How  did  you  discover 
that  the  mother  of  harlots  is  the  spouse 
of  Christ,  and  the  parent  of  a  holy  seed? 
Away  with  such  charity  !  She  borrowed 
her  robe  from  "  Mystery,  Babylon  ;" 
she  wears  a  veil  very  pleasing  to  the 
harlot.  True  charity  comes  forth  with 
the  Master's  commission  and  authority 
to  proclaim  the  apostacy  of  Babylon. 

2.  This  ministry  will  not  tolerate  the 
covering  up  of  this  subject.  Light  will 
attend  them.  Their  preaching  will  not 
consist  of  empty  declamation  and  vague 
skirmishing, — "  the  earth  was  lightened 
with  his  glory."  They  will  so  study  as 
to  understand  the  subject,  and  so  under- 
standing, they  will  make  the  world  to 


LECTURE  XXX. 


267 


understand  it  also.  "  The  earth  was 
lightened  ;"  the  governments  and  people 
within  this  earth  will  be  made,  by  the 
Protestant  ministry,  to  see  in  its  proper 
character,  the  Romish  system  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  true  Bible  doctrine 
on  the  other ;  and  this  is  preparatory  to 
their  falling  off  from  Antichrist,  and  to 
the  great  earthquake. 

3.  Their  ministry  will  not  work  in 
secret,  by  an  invisible  agency,  like 
Rome.  The  faithful  servants  of  God 
are  not  a  secret  society  :  they  seek  to 
be  known  openly.  They  have  no  pri- 
vate rules  of  faith  or  principles  of  action. 
All  their  efforts  are  directed  to  the  great- 
est possible  publicity.  They  lift  up  the 
voice  like  a  trumpet.  These  men  will 
cry  mightily  with  a  strong  voice  :  they 
will  not  steal  around  and  whisper  their 
fears  into  the  ears  of  courtiers,  and  ma- 
gistrates, and  kings,  that,  "  perhaps 
Rome  is  wrong,  possibly  she  is  astray 
in  some  things  and  ought  to  be  reformed; 
peradventure  the  union  of  church  and 
state  may  be  of  corrupting  tendency  ;  it 
might  be  prudent  to  inquire  whether  pa- 
tronage and  intrusion  of  ministers  upon 
the  church,  by  civil  force,  against  the 
people's  wish,  may  be  an  error."  No 
such  course  will  they  pursue.  They 
come  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias, 
of  Paul,  of  Luther,  of  Calvin,  of  Knox. 
They  lift  up  the  voice,  as  when  a  lion 
roareth.  "Babylon  the  great  is  fallen;" 
Rome  has  apostatized,  she  is  no  true 
church  of  God.  She  has  degenerated 
into  a  synagogue  of  Satan,  the  habita- 
tion, not  the  temporary  residence,  but 
the  fixed  abode  of  demons  and  demon- 
worship  ;  her  every  temple,  from  St. 
Peter's,  down,  is  a  pantheon,  full  of 
heathen  idolatry  ;  all  unclean  spirits 
like  frogs,  find  in  her  a  stronghold,  and 
she  is  the  "  cage  of  every  unclean  and 
hateful  bird."  What  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion this,  of  the  Popish  nunneries,  or 
"  prisons  for  unmarried  women."  Look 
at  these  large  and  massive  piles,  these 
strong  stone  walls,  these  iron-grated 
windows,  and  say  are  not  these  prison 
cages  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird? 
Why  the  repetition  of  the  word  prison 
here,  if  it  be  not  designed  to  point  out 


the  two  classes  of  filthy  abode  ?  "  The 
hold,  (911X0007) — prison  of  every  foul 
spirit :"  this  represents  the  monasteries 
or  prisons  of  unmarried  men,  whence 
indolence  and  vice  send  forth  their  vile 
influence  to  pollute  the  atmosphere  and 
vitiate  the  moral  health  of  the  land  ; — 
"  and  a  cage  (cpuXax^,)  a  prison  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird :"  these  are 
the  nunneries.  These  prisons  are  com- 
monly contiguous  to  each  other.  The 
nunneries  are  accessible  to  the  monks 
under  such  regulations  and  restrictions 
as  best  subserves  in  each,  the  purposes 
of  their  existence. 

From  such  well-adjusted  agency  to 
promote  her  spiritual  and  natural  abo- 
minations, the  great  scarlet  courtesan 
might  reasonably  be  expected  to  be  a 
monster  of  iniquity.  Accordingly,  we 
are  informed  of  impurities,  in  Rome  lite- 
rally, and  in  all  the  courts  and  countries 
that  came  under  her  spiritual  dominion, 
such  as  puts  entirely  m  the  shade,  the 
less  horrible  impurities  of  pagan  Rome. 
These  things  are  alluded  to  in  verse  3, 
which  may  and  ought  to  be  taken  in 
both  a  literal  and  spiritual  sense  :  and 
these  it  is  the  authorized  privilege  and 
the  unpleasant  duty  of  the  ministers  of 
God,  to  point  out  and  expose  to  public 
scorn. 

4.  Verses  4,  5  :  "  And  I  heard  another 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of 
her,  my  people,  thfc  ye  be  not  partakers 
of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of 
her  plagues  ;  for  her  sins  have  reached 
unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered 
her  iniquities."  This  is  but  another 
voice  of  the  same  ministry.  In  the 
former,  they  pointed  out  her  wickedness 
and  pollution  ;  now  they  designate  the 
duty  of  entire  separation  from  her.  Ob- 
serve, 

1.  Within  the  pale  of  this  corrupt 
church,  there  are  yet  people  whom  God 
hath  chosen,  and  whom  he  will  call  out 
by  his  divine  spirit,  as  he  here  calls  them 
by  his  living  ministry.  The  church, 
and  especially  the  messengers  of  God, 
have  an  important  service  to  perform 
towards  those  who  are  entangled  in  the 
toils  of  the  harlot.  A  very  clear  and 
noted  distinction  there  is  between   the 


268 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


woman  and  the  people  whom  she  leads 
captive.  The  former  must  be  destroyed, 
and  it  will  be  by  violence  in  part;  but 
many  of  the  lambs  of  Christ's  flock, 
who  are  led  astray  and  imprisoned  by 
her,  may  and  will  be  delivered.  This 
distinction  it  is  easier  to  observe  in 
theory  than  in  practice ;  and  to  this 
difficulty  we  ought  to  address  ourselves, 
that  we  may  enable  the  deluded  followers 
of  the  wanton  to  perceive  that  in  op- 
posing their  deceiver,  whom  they  yet 
love,  we  are  not  opposing,  but  favouring 
them  ;  that  in  letting  light  into  the  dark- 
ness of  her  cells,  we  really  show  kind- 
ness to  the  immured  victims  of  this  su- 
perstition, convert  the  nun  into  a  Mag- 
dalen, and  overturn  the  seraglio  itself. 

2.  The  ministers  of  the  gospel  will 
teach  and  press  upon  those  embraced 
within  the  Papal  influence,  their  respon- 
sibilities for  her  crimes.  If  they  know- 
ingly and  wilfully  remain  in  her  com- 
munion, they  are  partakers  of  her  sins ; 
and,  of  course,  the  punishment  of  them 
they  cannot  escape. 

3.  The  near  approach  of  her  judg- 
ments they  will  point  out.  How  this 
can  be  done  without  looking  for  the  signs 
of  the  times  ;  and  how  the  signs  of  the 
times  can  be  perceived,  in  the  total  ne- 
glect of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  are  in- 
quiries for  those  who  are  thus  negligent. 
Such  neglect  will  not,  and  it  does  not 
characterize  the  n^nistry  who  shall 
herald  the  great  revival  concomitant  with 
the  seventh  vial.  They,  with  loud  and 
earnest  importunity,  entreat  the  unhappy 
victims  of  these  delusions  to  flee  her  im- 
purities, if  they  would  escape  her  punish- 
ments. 

In  verses  6  and  7  we  have  the  denun- 
ciations of  this  angel :  "  Reward  her  even 
as  she  rewarded  you,  and  double  unto 
her  double,  according  to  her  works ;  in 
the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her 
double.  How  much  she  hath  glorified 
herself,  and  lived  deliciously,  so  much 
torment  and  sorrow  give  her;  for  she 
saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am 
no  widow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow." 

These  injunctions  are  laid  upon  those 
who  shall,  either  recently  or  remotely, 
have  obeyed  the  command  to  come  out 


from  her, — the  same  referred  to  in  chap, 
xvii.  16.  The  governments  and  people 
of  the  nations,  upon  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  nature  and  tendencies  of 
the  antichristian  system,  will  feel  it  to  be 
their  duty,  in  obedience  to  this  command 
of  God,  utterly  to  destroy  it ;  and  in  exe- 
cuting this  sentence  upon  the  Antichrist, 
undoubtedly  much  individual  suffering 
will  occur. 

Her  oivn  cup  shall  be  used  to  measure 
her  own  punishment.  That  is,  she  shall 
suffer  in  like  manner  as  she  afflicted 
the  saints ;  but  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree. Double  unto  her  a  double  punish- 
ment. There  is  to  be  a  constant  refer- 
ence to  her  previous  treatment  of  the 
worshippers  of  God.  Her  torment  all 
along  appears  to  be  retaliatory ;  not  that 
personal  or  individual  revenge  can  have 
any  thing  to  do  with  it :  but  it  is  God's 
vengeance ;  his  righteous  retribution 
upon  the  most  unholy  and  wicked  of  all 
human  associations. 

Her  degradation  and  torment  are  also 
to  bear  a  relation  to  her  pride  and  lofti- 
ness. This  makes  it  proper  to  remark 
again  the  difference  between  the  harlot 
and  the  mass  of  individuals  whom  she 
led  astray  in  their  ignorance.  For  it  is 
well  known  that  the  great  body  of  pri- 
vate persons  in  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries do  not  live  in  ease  and  comfort. 
They  are  much  more  abject  and  wretched 
than  in  Protestant  lands.  But  this  very 
abjectness  results  from  her  tyranny ; 
and  will  aggravate  her  own  punish- 
ment when  these  oppressed  individuals 
shall  discover  her  iniquities  and  for- 
sake her. 

Her  destruction  is  spoken  of  under  the 
idea  of  a  besieged  city ;  in  one  day,  at 
once,  her  plagues  shall  come:  death,  and 
mourning,  and  famine ;  and  after  these 
comes  frequently  fire,  for  the  entire  de- 
struction of  the  city.  This  language 
regards  the  future,  and  we  waive  the 
question  concerning  literal  fire.  We 
may  notice  it  when  we  arrive  at  the  cri- 
sis of  the  calamity,  in  chap.  xix. 

From  verses  9  to  19,  inclusive,  we 
have  a  detailed  account  of  the  lamenta- 
tions of  kings,  merchants,  mariners,  and 
all    descriptions    of  persons  who    have 


LECTURE  XXX. 


269 


profited  by  her  traffic.  They  send  up 
loud  waitings  over  her  misfortunes.  We 
doubt  not  these  things  have  had  par- 
tially, and  will  have  more  fully,  a  literal 
accomplishment ;  just  as  the  crime  used 
to  represent  the  spiritual  apostacy  has 
a  literal  fulfilment  in  the  atrocities  of 
the  nunneries  and  confessionals.  Yet 
we  are  concerned  more  immediately 
with  the  principal  things  intended,  the 
sense  of  loss  and  consequent  distress, 
experienced  by  the  deluded  followers  of 
the  spiritual  abominations.  This  whole 
context  is  designed  to  impress  the  one 
lesson,  that  great  consternation  and  an- 
guish will  pervade  the  whole  interests  of 
the  Antichrist,  upon  the  demolition  of 
the  system. 

A  single  explanatory  remark  seems 
to  us  necessary.  It  relates  to  the  ninth 
verse,  where  the  kings  of  the  earth  who 
have  been  in  league  with  the  scarlet- 
coloured  woman,  are  represented  as 
taking  the  lead  in  this  lamentation. 
Whereas,  in  verse  16  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  they  are  said  to  hate  her  and 
burn  her  with  fire.  The  observation  is, 
that  these  relate  to  different  periods  of 
time  ;  not  far  distant,  indeed,  but  still 
somewhat  removed.  The  latter  passage 
refers,  as  we  think,  to  a  period  subse- 
quent to  the  destruction  of  Megiddo, 
where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet 
will  be  taken.  After  this  defeat,  the 
kings,  who  till  now  will  be  her  allies, 
will  fall  off,  and  prove  her  most  bitter 
foes.     This  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

Verse  20  :  "  Rejoice  over  her,  thou 
heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and  pro- 
phets ;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on 
her."  The  remark  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary here,  that  the  whole  church  of 
God,  and  especially  her  officers,  must 
take  the  side  of  God  her  redeemer,  and 
rejoice  at  the  overthrow  of  his  and  their 
enemies. 

The  mighty  angel  taking  up  a  stone 
like  a  great  millstone,  (verse  21,)  and' 
casting  it  into  the  sea,  is  strongly  ex- 
pressive of  the  suddenness  and  perfec- 
tion of  her  overthrow  :  "  thus  with  vio- 
lence shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be 
thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found  no 
more  at  all."     The  apostle  proceeds  to 


depict    the    irrcvocableness   of  this  de- 
struction. 

Verses  22,  23,  24  :  "  And  the  voice 
of  harpers,  and  musicians,  and  of  pipers, 
and  trumpeters,  shall  be  heard  no  more 
at  all  in  thee  ;  and  no  craftsman,  of 
whatsoever  craft  he  be,  shall  be  found 
any  more  in  thee  ;  and  the  sound  of  a 
millstone  shall -be  heard  no  more  at  all 
in  thee  ;  and  the  light  of  a  candle  shall 
shine  no  more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  the 
voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  of  the  bride 
shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee  ; 
for  thy  merchants  were  the  great  men 
of  the  earth  ;  for  by  thy  sorceries  were 
all  nations  deceived.  And  in  her  was 
found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of 
all  that  were  slain  upon  the  earth." 

Chap.  xix.  1-10  :  "  And  after  these 
things  I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much 
people  in  heaven,  saying,  Alleluia  ;  salva- 
tion, and  glory,  and  honour,  and  power, 
unto  the  Lord  our  God  :  for  true  and 
righteous  are  his  judgments ;  for  he 
hath  judged  the  great  whore,  which  did 
corrupt  the  earth  with  her  fornication, 
and  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  ser- 
vants at  her  hand.  And  again  they 
said  Alleluia.  And  her  smoke  rose  up 
for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  four  and 
twenty  elders  and  four  beasts  fell  down 
and  worshipped  God  that  sat  on  the 
throne,  saying,  Amen  ;  Alleluia.  And 
a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying, 
Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and 
ye  that  fear  him,  both  small  and  great. 
And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunderings,  saying,  Alleluia :  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.  Let 
us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour 
to  him  :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb 
is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready.  And  to  her  was  granted  that 
she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen, 
clean  and  white  :  for  the  fine  linen  is 
the  righteousness  of  saints.  And  he 
saith  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they 
which  are  called  unto  the  marriage- 
supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith 
unto  me,  These  are  the  true  sayings  of 
God.  And  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship 
him.     And  he  said  unto  me,  See  thou 


270 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


do  it  not ;  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and 
of  thy  brethren  that  have  the  testimony 
of  Jesus ;  worship  God  ;  for  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy." 
This  context  is  evidently  a  prolepsis 
in  the  vision,  an  anticipation  of  the  re- 
sult of  the  great  battle.  Some  think  it 
has  special  reference  to  the  conversion 
of  the  Israelites  ;  and  we  see  no  reason- 
able objection  to  the  speciality.  But  be 
that  as  it  may,  it  is  plain  that  the  church, 
strong  in  faith,  and  assured,  because  of 
the  infallibility  and  omnipotence  of  her 
king,  of  a  glorious  triumph,  raises  the 
victor  shout  and  the  triumphal  song  before 
the  hour  of  conflict.  In  this  are  to  be 
observed, 

1.  The  quarter  whence  this  voice 
arises  is  the  church.  For  shortly  after 
it  becomes  evident,  from  the  mention  of 
the  throne,  the  Zdia,  and  the  elders,  that 
the  scene  first  presented  to  the  apostle's 
mind,  (chap,  iv.)  was  still  in  his  eye. 
This  thundering  acclamation  is  from 
that  vast  multitude  who  surround  the 
circle  of  the  elders,  the  whole  body  of 
the  church.  This  shout  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving:,  is  in  obedience  to  the 
command  given  a  short  time  before  in 
chap,  xviii.  20,  "  Rejoice  over  her,  thou 
heaven." 

2.  The  matter  uttered  by  this  great 
voice  :  Alleluia, — praise  ye  the  Lord,  or 
Jehovah.  From  this  arises  the  presump- 
tion, that  the  context  at  least  includes 
the  calling  of  the  Israelites.  This  is  the 
first  and  the  last  word  of  the  five  Psalms, 
from  cxlvi.  to  cl.  inclusive,  from  this 
called  by  the  Jews,  the  Hillel,  which 
were  sung  usually  at  the  passover,  and 
understood  by  them  to  refer  to  the  com- 
ing of  Messiah.  Its  fourfold  repetition 
within  a  few  verses,  greatly  strengthens 
this  opinion.  It  is  explained  here,  as 
an  ascription  of  salvation,  and  glory, 
and  honour,  and  power,  unto  him.  Not- 
withstanding their  own  active  agency  in 
the  discomfiture  of  their  foes,  and  their 
own  consequent  deliverance,  they  feel 
that  the  whole  efficacy  and  power  are 
from  the  Lord  their  God  :  to  him  there- 
fore is  it  ascribed.  "  Not  unto  us,  O 
Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name  be 
the  glory." 


3.  The  reasons  of  this  triumphant 
shout.  God's  judgments,  which  they 
see  as  it  were  accomplished,  are  accord- 
ing to  truth  and  righteousness  :  true,  in- 
asmuch as  they  are  agreeable  to  his  pro- 
mise of  avenging  his  own  elect :  righte- 
ous, because  the  iniquities  of  the  grand 
apostate  were  amply  meritorious  of  such 
a  reward  ;  and  because  these  judgments 
are  highly  calculated  to  promote  righte- 
ousness and  truth  in  the  earth.  Whereas, 
the  long  tolerance  of  such  abominations 
emboldens  crime  and  pi'omotes  unholi- 
ness. 

4.  The  perpetuity  of  her  destruction  : 
her  smoke  ascends  for  ever  and  ever ; 
for  ages  and  ages.  Babylon  had  re- 
ceived many  checks  or  temporary  judg- 
ments, from  which  she  recovered  :  whilst 
we  write,  she  is  recovering  from  a  severe 
blow  ;  but  the  overthrow  here  celebrated 
prospectively,  is  final ;  there  is  no  de- 
liverance, no  respite,  no  partial  restora- 
tion. The  evidences  of  her  torment 
ascend  eternally. 

5.  In  this  jubilee  of  joy,  the  officers 
of  the  church,  of  course,  unite  ;  and  that, 
if  possible,  with  a  more  profound  adora- 
tion. They  prostrate  themselves,  and 
worship  God  that  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
saying,  Amen,  Alleluia. 

Verses  5  and  6  :  "  And  a  voice  came 
out  of  the  thi'one,  saying,  Praise  our  God, 
all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear  him, 
both  small  and  great!  And  I  heard,  as 
it  were,  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude, 
and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying, 
Alleluia;  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth."  By  coming  out  of  the  throne 
cannot  be  understood  here,  the  voice  of 
him  who  sat  upon  the  throne,  for  the 
matter  spoken  seems  to  imply  different 
persons.  God  himself  would  not  say, 
Praise  our  God.  Therefore,  it  must  be 
understood  as  proceeding  from  one  or 
more  of  the  living  creatures  who  stood 
near  the  throne,  and  so  would,  in  refe- 
rence to  those  at  a  distance,  appear  to 
come  in  reality  from  it.  It  is  the  call 
from  the  ministry  of  the  church,  upon 
the  whole  inhabitants  of  the  ecclesiastical 
heaven,  both  small  and  great ;  that  is, 
private  men  and  public  officers,  to  unite 


LECTURE  XXX. 


271 


in  the  high  praises  of  their  victorious 
King. 

Immediately,  this  call  is  obeyed,  and 
the  loud  acclaim  of  redeemed  millions 
bursts  upon  the  ear  like  the  roarings  of 
rushing  waters ;  like  the  voice  of  God 
himself,  when  with  mighty  thunderings 
he  rends  the  sky.  The  sentiment  of  the 
vojce,  is,  in  part,  the  same,  Alleluia, 
praise  ye  the  Lord.  And  they  add  the 
reason, — "  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth."  This  is  the  same  scene,  and 
the  same  ascription,  which  we  have  in 
ch.  xi.  17,  and  anticipates,  as  it  does 
there,  the  Mediator's  full  assumption  of 
his  ruling  power.  This  is  more  evident 
from  the  next  verse,  where  this  vast 
multitude  swell  the  one  note  of  gladness 
and  exultation  and  ascription  of  honour 
to  the  Saviour ;  because  of  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  the 
just  opening  splendours  of  the  great 
spiritual  marriage-supper. 

Under  this  figure  is  set  forth  the 
union  between  the  Redeemer  and  the 
nations,  Jew  and  Gentile,  now  recently 
converted  unto  God ;  and  the  joys 
consequent  thereon.  This  forms  a  bold 
contrast  with  the  unhallowed  union 
between  the  beast  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  and  "  the  mother  of  abomina- 
tions." Several  points  of  contrast  may 
be  adduced. 

1.  Spotless  purity  characterizes  "the 
bride,  the  Lamb's  wife."  "  To  her  was 
granted,  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in 
fine  linen,  clean  and  white."  But  the 
apostate  church  is  an  harlot,  exhibiting 
to  the  moral  sensibilities  the  most  dis- 
gusting impurities. 

2.  The  robes  of  the  pure  spiritual 
bride  are  conferred  upon  her  by  the  con- 
descension of  her  Lord ;  to  her  it  was 
granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed. 
The  fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of 
saints  :  not  their  personal  righteousness 
or  obedience  to  law ;  for  then  it  were  no 
gratuity.  Her  own  "  righteousness  is  as 
filthy  rags,"  utterly  unsuitable  to  appear 
in,  but  those  granted  to  her  are  spotless- 
ly pure.  Not  so  the  dress  and  decora- 
tions of  Mystery  Babylon,  which  are  of 
her  own  procuring.  The  wages  of  her 
iniquities  have  "  arrayed  her  in  purple, 


and  scarlet  colour,  and  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls." 

3.  The  union  itself  and  the  tenden- 
cies are  a  contrariety.  The  bride  of  the 
heavenly  husband  is  bound  by  the  law 
to  her  heavenly  husband  as  long  as  he 
liveth — forever;  it  lifts  her  up  to  dig- 
nity and  honour;  it  results  in  blessed- 
ness unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  The 
connexion  of  the  other  is  illicit,  tem- 
porary, debasing;  and  infallibly  leads 
downward  to  eternal  shame  and  ever- 
lasting misery. 

Hence,  the  instruction  of  the  angel  to 
John,  "  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which 
are  called  to  the  marriage-supper  of  the 
Lamb." 

This  exhibition  of  the  divine  conde- 
scension, accompanied  by  the  angel's 
affirmation  that  these  doctrines  are  true 
and  from  God,  seem  to  have  produced 
upon  the  apostle's  mind  the  impression 
that  the  angel  who  talked  with  him  was 
none  other  than  the  angel  Redeemer  ; 
and  he  fell  down  at  his  feet  to  worship 
him.  He  was  immediately  corrected. 
"  See  thou  do  it  not :  I  am  thy  fellow- 
servant, — only  a  created  messenger, — 
and  of  thy  brethren  that  have  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  :  worship  God ;  for  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy." 

This  passage  is  not  without  difficulty. 
If  this  is  an  angel,  a  superior,  human, 
created  spirit,  how  can  he  call  himself 
a  fellow-servant  with  John  ?  How  should 
he  say  he  was  one  of  the  apostle's  bre- 
thren that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  ? 
Besides,  the  parallel  case  (chap.  xxii.  9) 
increases  the  difficulty.  "  I  am  thy  fel- 
low-servant, and  of  thy  brethren  the 
prophets."  We  are  thus  in  a  dilemma. 
We  must  either  maintain  that  this  is  the 
spirit  of  some  departed  prophet,  sent  as 
a  messenger  of  Jesus,  or. we  must  find 
some  explanation  of  this  language  dif- 
ferent from  what  would  at  a  first  glance 
seem  to  be  its  meaning.  To  the  latter 
we  incline,  because  we  have  no  example 
of  redeemed  spirits  being  sent  as  visible 
messengers  of  God. 

Fellow-servant:  although  the  word  is 
every  where  else  in  the  New  Testament 
undoubtedly   applied   to   men,  as   being 


272 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


employed  in  serving  the  same  Master, 
is  yet  not  inconsistent  in  its  meaning 
with  its  application  to  different  orders 
of  intelligence,  engaged  in  serving  the 
same  Master,  although  their  services 
may  very  essentially  differ. 

Again  ;  the  Greek  text  most  literally 
rendered  in  both  cases,  diminishes  the 
difficulty  materially.  "  I  am  a  fellow- 
servant  of  thee  and  of  thy  brethren 
having  the  testimony  of  Jesus ;"  and 
chap.  xxii.  9,  "  I  am  a  fellow-servant  of 
thee  and  of  thy  brethren,  the  prophets, 
and  of  those  keeping  the  doctrines  of 
this  book."  The  texts  do  not  say  that 
the  angel  is  one  of  the  apostle's  bre- 
thren, as  our  translation  may  be,  and 
probably  is  often  understood  to  say.  It 
simply  affirms  that  he  is  a  fellow-servant 
of  his  and  a  fellow-servant  of  his  bre- 
thren. There  is  nothing  in  this  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  of  his  being  a 
superhuman  spirit. :  for  he  was  at  the 
moment  serving,  along  with  John,  the 
very  same  divine  Master.  He  was  also 
keeping  the  testimony  of  Jesus  and  the 
doctrines  of  this  book :  as  intimated  in 
ch.  i.  1  ;  he  sent  his  angel  and  signified 
this  revelation  to  his  servant  John.  This 
angel  thus  communicates  the  message  of 
Christ  to  the  churches ;  and  so  the  testi- 
mony from  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy :  it  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  speak- 
ing in  the  angel  and  in  the  prophet,  that 
Jesus,  the  true  witness,  bears  his  testi- 
mony. 

Let  us  sum  up  the  leading  practical 
truths  of  this  exposition. 

1.  To  point  out  the  delusions  of  the 
apostate  church,  and  warn  all  men  to 
beware  of  the  intoxicating  bowl  of  her 
delights,  is  no  dereliction  of  ministerial 
duty.  On  the  contrary,  the  signs  of  the 
times  plainly  indicate  that  the  requisitions 
of  God's  word  to  cry  with  a  loud  voice 
that  she  is  an  apostate,  are  specially 
binding  upon  the  ministry  of  this  genera- 
tion. "  The  prophet  that  hath  a  dream, 
let  him  tell  the  dream;  and  he  that  hath 
my  word,  let  him  speak  my  word  faith- 
fully, what  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat? 
saith  the  Lord." 

2.  We  learn  the  duty  of  separation 
from   a   corrupt  church.     Yet  is  there 


some  practical  difficulty  to  know  the  time 
and  manner.  Is  a  man  justifiable  in 
separation  for  trivial  errors,  or  slight 
inconvenience?  Is  not  this  the  sin  of 
schism?  The  only  safe  rule,  we  pre- 
sume, is  to  remain  and  not  break  com- 
munion, so  long  as  one  can  remain  with 
a  free  conscience ;  that  is,  whilst  he  is 
permitted  to  worship  God  and  enjoy  the 
ordinances  in  purity.  But  when  the  body 
of  a  church  forsake  the  foundation  of 
gospel  truth,  and  endeavour  to  force 
upon  the  members  things  in  themselves 
sinful,  then  the  voice  of  God  is,  Come 
out.  Obedience  to  this  voice  is  virtual 
excommunication  of  the  corrupt  mass, 
who  have  separated  from  God. 

The  matter  of  transit  from  one  sect  to 
another,  is  quite  a  different  affair  where 
the  sects  are  both  recognised  as  true 
churches  of  God.  There  is  here  no 
coming  out,  no  separation,  no  excommu- 
nication. It  is  only  a  transfer  of  a 
soldier  from  one  department  of  the  great 
army  to  another.  But  even  this  ought 
not  to  be  attempted  without  the  authority 
of  the  commander.  No  private  Christian 
or  minister  is  justifiable  in  making  such 
transfer  of  himself,  but  upon  clear  con- 
viction, that  in  the  new  connexion  or 
location,  he  can  better  serve  the  cause  of 
truth  and  righteousness. 

3.  The  kings  of  the  earth,  the  go- 
vernments of  western  Europe,  feel  the 
doctrines  of  Romanism  to  be  of  great 
importance  to  them.  Hence  legitimacy 
fondles  upon  the  church,  meaning  by  the 
church,  the  civil  establishment.  Of 
course,  all  who  do  not  remain  in  the 
communion  of  the  state  religion,  are 
looked  upon  with  a  jealous  eye  ;  they  are 
not  allowed  to  be  members  of  the 
church  :  but  are  kindly  left  to  the  un- 
covenanted  mercies  of  God ;  that  is,  they 
are  delivered  over  to  Satan.  Protestant 
Catholics  do  not  indeed,  like  the  Roman- 
ists, expressly  say,  that  communion  with 
the  state  church  and  her  aristocratic 
hierarchy  is  indispensable  to  salvation ; 
but  they  only  do  not  say  it :  they  mean  it. 

Hence  too,  the  rapid  increase  of  the 
Pusey  faction,  and  the  high  favour  to 
which  they  are  ascending  in  the  English 
Church.      Their    doctrine   is   the   true 


LECTURE  XXXI. 


273 


legitimacy,  and  will  undoubtedly  force 
the  evangelical  part  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  into  its  own  ranks,  or  into  dis- 
sent ;  as  they  have  done  the  great  body 
of  evangelical  piety  in  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land. 

4.  The  testimony  of  Jesus,  delivered 
to  the  church  under  the  supernatural 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  his  grand 
instrumentality  for  the  destruction  of 
Antichrist ;  and  therefore  it  is,  that 
Bible  Societies,  and  all  other  means  of 
disseminating  the  Word  of  God,  with- 
out note  or  human  comment,  are  so 
odious  and  hateful  to  the  great  "  mother 
of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the 
earth."  This  opposition  is  manifestly 
sound  policy  in  her.  It  requires  al- 
most no  sense  to  perceive,  that  where 
the  scriptures  circulate  freely  among 
a  people  competent  to  read  them,  the 
tyranny  which  lords  it  over  the  con- 
science, and  vilifies  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  cannot  long  suppress  the  truth 
and  retain  the  intellect  of  man  in  chains 
of  darkness. 

5.  We  learn  the  purifying  influence 
of  true  religion.  The  constitution  of 
man  places  his  mind  under  the  govern- 
ment of  truth.  His  faith  rests  on  truth, 
as  his  mind  conceives  it  to  be ;  and  his 
actions  will  accord  thereto.  Conse- 
quently, if  his  conceptions  are  correct, 
if  he  properly  perceive  the  relations  he 
sustains  to  God's  law,  his  gospel,  his 
people,  the  feelings  and  actions  of  the 
man  will  be  consistent  therewith :  he 
will  be  holy.  Error  leads  to  crime,  but 
truth  to  virtue.  Darkness  yields  un- 
fruitful works  ;  light,  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness, peace,  and  purity.  The  saints 
are  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and 
white. 

If  these  things  are  so,  most  naturally 
may  we  expect  happiness  to  follow. 
God  is  truth,  and  action  according  to 
truth  is  action  according  to  God ;  this 
his  righteousness  approves,  and  he  will 
reward  with  boundless  felicity.  Holiness 
and  happiness  are  inseparable.  The 
scriptures,  therefore,  continually  repre- 
sent the  state  of  holy  beings  as  one  of 
high  enjoyment:  and  every  approxima- 
tion to  entire  purity,  has  its  correspon- 

35 


dent  degree  of  blessedness.     We  may 
hence  infer : 

6.  The  deep  interest  we  have  in  pro- 
gressive sanctification.  Every  virtuous 
action,  every  successful  resistance  to 
evil,  every  flowing  forth  of  the  heart  in 
holy  adoration  to  God,  brings  with  it  its 
own  reward,  and  gives  a  new  motive  to 
increased  activity  in  the  ways  of  well- 
doing. Thus  is  practically  refuted  the 
objection  against  the  doctrine  of  gratui- 
tous salvation,  that  it  leads  to  licentious- 
ness, makes  men  indifferent  to  personal 
holiness  and  active  piety.  We  see  here, 
how  the  effect  must  be  just  the  reverse  : 
and  experience  and  observation  corre- 
spond to  theory.  The  truth  is  blazoned 
all  abroad,  that  those  who  depend  solely 
on  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  for 
their  salvation,  are  the  most  virtuous  of 
the  human  race. 

7.  We  remark,  the  gratuitousness  of 
the  church's  salvation.  She  is  arrayed 
in  robes  of  righteousness  indeed  ;  but 
they  are  the  donation  of  her  Saviour. 
She  is  purified  and  made  white,  but 
it  is  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The 
entire  Bible  and  the  experience  and  tes- 
timony of  the  whole  redeemed  church 
show,  that  salvation  is  all  of  grace.  Let 
it  then,  my  friends,  be  our  concern  to 
apply  in  due  time  and  manner,  at  hea- 
ven's wardrobe,  that  we  may  be  gra- 
tuitously arrayed  in  fine  linen,  and  thus 
be  fitted  to  sit  down  at  the  marriage- 
supper  of  the  Lamb. 


LECTURE  XXXI. 

THE    KING    OF    MANY    CROWNS. 

"And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a 
white  horse;  and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was 
called  Faithful  and  True  ;  and  in  righteousness 
he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  His  eyes  were 
as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were  many 
crowns;  and  he  had  a  name  written  that  no 
man  knew  but  he  himself:  and  he  was  clothed 
with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood;  and  his  name 
is  called  The  Word  of  God.  And  the  armies 
which  were  in  heaven  followed  him  upon  white 
horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 


274 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword, 
that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations  ;  and 
he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  he 
treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and 
wrath  of  Almighty  God.  And  he  hath  on 
his  vesture,  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords." — Rev. 
xix.  11-16. 

Among  the  preparations  for  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  great  antichristian  con- 
federacy, we  have  noted,  the  agency 
employed  and  now  at  work,  towards  its 
thorough  organization  :  the  unclean  spi- 
rits like  frogs,  have  gone  forth  to  the 
various  governments  of  the  world.  We 
have  attended  to  the  apostle's  introduc- 
tion, or  summary  contents  of  the  seventh 
vial. 

We  have  endeavoured  to  follow  the 
text  in  its  very  accurate,  clear,  and  full 
description  of  the  object  of  divine  wrath : 
this  description  we  have  seen  is  so  mi- 
nute and  graphic,  that  it  cannot  be  mis- 
taken ;  nor  can  it  be  mystified  and  pre- 
vented so  as  to  conceal  the  intention 
of  the  sacred  Spirit  in  the  premises. 
Western  Europe  embraces  the  king- 
doms, whose  apostacy  has  united  them 
into  one  interest,  as  completely  as  before 
the  dismemberment  of  the  empire;  and 
this  interest  is  under  the  control  and 
direction  of  the  impure  woman  clothed 
in  scarlet. 

We  have  adverted  to  the  counter- 
agency  which  has  been  sent  forth  from 
the  throne  of  God  to  warn  the  nations 
of  the  coming  trials,  and  to  proclaim  the 
approaching  judgments  which  he  is 
about  to  inflict  upon  his  foes.  We  have 
glanced  hastily  at  the  distraction,  vexa- 
tion and  disappointment  of  the  various 
worldly  interests  affected  by  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  the  great  city.  And 
we  have  hearkened  to  the  shouts  of  tri- 
umphant joy,  as  they  burst  from  the  lips 
of  the  great  multitude  who  follow  the 
Lamb,  and  sit  down  ultimately  at  the 
marriage-supper. 

Before  he  developes  the  crisis,  the  in- 
spired penman  has  now  only  to  present 
us  with  a  view  of  the  head  and  leader  of 
the  armies  of  light.  This  he  does  in  the 
context,  to  which  attention  is  now  called. 

1.  The  scene  of  this  vision  is  laid 
within  the  church :  he  saw  heaven  opened. 


This  phrase  is  well  adapted  to  suggest 
the  idea  of  the  church  standing  forth 
clearly  distinct  in  her  character  from 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world,  fully  reveal- 
ing all  her  doctrines ;  without  bars  or 
gates  to  shut  in  or  keep  out  any.  So, 
in  chap,  xxi.,  where  the  description  is 
much  expanded,  it  is  said,  "  The  gates 
of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by  day ;" 
and  that  "  there  shall  be  no  night  there;" 
the  gates  are  always  open:  perfect  free- 
dom and  perfect  security,  as  well  as 
safety,  characterize  the  church  in  this 
age. 

2.  The  principal  figure  in  this  picture 
is  the  white  horse  and  his  rider.  This 
whole  scene  we  understand,  as  the  other 
visions  in  this  book,  in  a  figurative  sense. 
A  literal  horse  and  rider,  in  the  literal 
heaven,  none  will  contend  for.  The  ques- 
tion is,  whom  does  it  represent  ?  Our 
response  has  long  since  been  given. 
Under  the  first  seal  we  saw  him  ride 
forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.  Ever 
since  has  he  kept  the  field,  vindicating 
the  cause  of  his  friends,  and  holding  in 
check  his  and  their  enemies.  Let  us 
remark  some  points  of  contrast  between 
him  and  his  antagonist,  whom  he  will 
overthrow. 

His  array  is  white.  That  of  the  other 
beast  and  his  rider  is  red,  scarlet,  or  pur- 
ple. The  rider  is  faithful  and  true  ;  the 
power  opposed  to  him  is  faithless  and 
false.  The  one  judges  and  makes  war 
with  entire  rectitude  ;  the  other  displays 
unrighteousness  in  both.  In  the  admi- 
nistration of  civil  affairs  within  the  west- 
ern Roman  dominion,  tyranny  and  op- 
pression have  long  prevailed,  and  even 
all  the  light  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion has  not  availed  to  correct  these 
abuses ;  cruelty  has  long  presided  in  her 
warlike  movements.  To  a  very  great 
extent  they  have  been  waged  for  pur- 
poses of  injustice  and  iniquity. 

His  omniscience  is  represented  by  his 
eyes  being  a  flame  of  fire.  They  are 
light  itself,  searching,  penetrating,  radi- 
ant with  glory.  Our  divine  Redeemer 
is  thus  described  in  chap.  i.  14  and  18: 
"  These  things  sayeth  the  Son  of  God, 
whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire."  "All 
things  are  open  and  naked  unto  the  eyes 


LECTURE  XXXI. 


275 


of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do" — who 
is  our  Judge. 

We  may  notice  next,  his  universal 
dominion  ;  his  headship  over  the  nations; 
"  on  his  head  were  many  crowns."  The 
crown  or  diadem,  we  have  fully  seen 
the  symbolic  meaning  of.  Jesus  went 
forth  with  his  bow,  and  one  crown  ; 
now,  he  wears  many  ;  plainly  intima- 
ting his  successful  war  upon  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  antichristian  beast  with  his 
ten  crowns  upon  his  heads.  The  very 
design  of  this  war  is  to  subvert  un- 
righteous domination,  to  place  the  ruling 
authority  among  the  nations  of  Europe 
in  the  proper  hands,  and  make  the  world 
to  know,  that  Jesus,  our  Immanuel,  is 
universal  governor.  How  appropriate 
the  symbol !  As  the  elders  cast  their 
crowns  before  him,  acknowledging  their 
subjection  to  him ;  so  all  diadems  of 
glory  must  be  placed  on  his  head.  His 
is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  all  king- 
doms must  serve  and  obey  him. 

Let  us  not  be  understood  in  a  literal 
sense,  in  regard  to  this  context.  Christ, 
we  have  no  doubt,  will  appear  in  our 
world  personally,  a  second  time ;  but 
this  advent  is  providentially.  In  and  by 
the  agency  of  his  church,  he  will  en- 
lighten the  world  in  the  knowledge  of 
gospel  truth  and  moral  law ;  and  by 
their  power  in  the  hearts  of  men,  he 
will  sway  his  sceptre  over  a  subject 
earth  ;  and  thus  his  head  wears  many 
crowns. 

3.  The  inscrutability  of  his  being  and 
perfections.  In  his  humanity,  he  is  not 
indeed  unsearchable  :  he  may  be  known 
and  read  of  all  men.  But  in  his  higher 
nature,  as  the  Son  of  God,  who  can 
find  him  out  unto  perfection  ?  What  is 
his  name,  or  his  Son's  name,  if  thou 
canst  tell?  The  name  of  a  thing  is  that 
by  which  it  is  known  and  distinguished 
from  every  thing  else.  God's  name  is 
the  sum  of  his  incomprehensible  attri- 
butes,— his  infinity,  eternity,  unchange- 
ableness,  omnipotence,  omniscience,  om- 
nipresence. These  all  existing  in  the 
person  of  our  Redeemer  constitute  his 
name. 

4.  "  He  was  clothed  in  a  vesture 
dipped  in  blood."     No  one,  we  think, 


can  read  this  context  and  compare  it 
with  Is.  lxiii.  without  imbibing  the  con- 
viction, that  they  regard  the  same  person 
and  in  the  same  circumstances.  "  Who 
is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom,  with 
dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ?  this  that 
is  glorious  in  his  apparel,  travelling  in 
the  greatness  of  his  strength  ?"  Some 
mighty  conqueror,  riding  in  the  car  of 
victorious  war,  and  crushing  all  opposi- 
tion beneath  his  feet.  "  Who  is  this  ?" 
His  response  is,  "  I  that  speak  in  right- 
eousness, mighty  to  save  ?"  Terrible  in- 
deed to  destroy ;  but  it  is  in  righteous- 
ness that  I  judge  and  make  war :  and 
this  same  power,  that  in  justice  spreads 
havoc  among  my  malignant  foes,  is 
equally  potent  for  salvation. 

But  if  thou  art  mighty  to  save,  whence 
these  tokens  of  blood  and  devastation? 
How  do  these  consist  with  saving  men  ? 
"  Wherefore  art  thou  red  in  thine  appa- 
rel, and  thy  garments  like  him  that 
treadeth  in  the  winefat?"  These  are 
not  evidences  of  a  saving  work. 

"  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press  alone  ; 
and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with 
me.  This  work  of  vengeance  is  not  for 
the  hands  of  mine  own  beloved  ones  ; 
but  I  will  myself  execute  my  purposes 
upon  those  who  are  my  people's  foes, 
for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger  and 
trample  them  in  my  fury;  and  their 
blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  gar- 
ments, and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment. 
They  have  had  time  and  space  for  re- 
pentance. Their  day  of  grace  was 
lengthened  out.  But  they  would  none 
of  my  counsel,  and  despised  all  my  re- 
proof. They  have  filled  up  the  measure 
of  their  iniquity,  and  the  vial  of  my 
wrath  is  also  full,  for  the  day  of  ven- 
geance is  in  my  heart,  that  I  may 
avenge  mine  own  elect  who  cry  unto 
me  day  and  night ;  and  the  year  of  my 
redeemed  is  come  ;  the  time  of  their 
deliverance  has  arrived  and  the  oppres- 
sor's arm  must  be  broken." 

Most  certainly  the  blood  upon  his  ves- 
ture is  the  blood  of  his  foes,  sprinkled 
upon  it,  as  the  blood  of  the  grapes  upon 
the  clothing  of  him  that  treadeth  in  the 
winefat.  This  induces  many  critics  to 
prefer  here,  the  reading  of  some  ancient 


276 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


manuscripts  and  translations,  a  vesture 
sprinkled  with  blood,  as  Isaiah  has  it. 
The  word  dip  implies  putting  the  gar- 
ment into  blood,  which  is  obviously  not 
the  case  here.  The  secondary  sense  of 
(3u<ktu>,  however,  to  colour,  tinge,  or  dye, 
after  becomes  the  leading  sense  ;  so  it 
is  here  ;  and  so  Isaiah  says,  "  I  will 
stain  all  my  raiment." 

5.  "  His  name  is  called  the  Word  of 
God."  "  In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God."  The  Logos 
is  an  epithet  of  Messiah,  and  is  used  to 
signify  his  eternal  wisdom  and  the  com- 
munication of  his  doctrine  to  his  church. 

In  verse  14,  his  armies  are  presented 
to  our  view,  following  him,  arrayed  in 
fine  linen,  white  and  clean.  Their  fol- 
lowing him  teaches,  that  in  war,  as  well 
as  in  peace,  we  may  not  act  indepen- 
dently of  his  example.  Let  us  see  to 
it  that  his  footsteps  are  before  us. 

Again  :  their  riding  upon  white  horses 
and  wearing  white  raiment,  indicates  the 
justice  of  their  cause  and  the  purity  of 
their  characters.  It  is  also  worthy  of 
remark  that  they  have  no  armour,  offen- 
sive or  defensive.  Does  this  teach  that 
they  are  not  to  fight,  at  least  in  the  work 
of  blood  ;  that  they  follow  him  to  partake 
of  his  triumph  only;  that  the  work  of 
destruction  will  be  accomplished  by  him- 
self alone,  or  by  some  other  agency  than 
that  of  his  people  1  The  prophet's  lan- 
guage, "  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press 
alone,  and  of  the  people  there  was  none 
with  me,"  (Is.  lxiii.  3,)  seems  decisive. 
To  this  agrees  the  apostle's  language, 
verse  15  :  "  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth 
a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  he  should 
smite  the  nations  ;  and  he  shall  rule 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  and  he  tread- 
eth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and 
wrath  of  Almighty  God." 

The  source  of  this  sword  would  seem 
to  indicate  a  spiritual  weapon  only, — 
"  the  sword  of  the  spirit,  which  is  the 
word  of  God."  This  proceeds  from  his 
mouth.  The  doctrines  Christ  taught  in 
the  days  of  his  flesh,  and  still  continues 
to  teach,  are  the  sword  by  which  he 
brings  down  many  strong  men  wounded 
and  slain.     In  this  sense  the  language 


accords  with  the  general  current  of 
Scripture.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  preaching  of  the  word  is  the  grand 
instrument  of  converting  the  world,  and 
thus  of  destroying  its  enmity  against 
God  and  his  Christ ;  and  that  this  is 
the  peculiar  office  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
But  the  ruling  with  a  rod  of  iron  and 
the  treading  the  wine-press  of  God's 
wrath, — these  cannot  be  fairly  explained 
without  the  admission  of  judgments  and 
miseries  great  and  very  terri  ble.  There 
is  such  a  heaping  up  of  epithets  here  as 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  any  but  the 
idea  of  exceeding  great  calamities  upon 
the  nations. 

We  may  not,  however,  be  perplexed 
with  these  apparent  inconsistencies.  For 
be  it  remembered,  the  mercies  of  God  and 
his  judgments,  which  are  tokens  of  his 
wrath,  are  often  very  nearly  connected, 
both  in  time  and  place.  His  vengeance 
toward  the  foes  of  Zion  is  but  the  burn- 
ing of  his  love  toward  the  dwellers  in  his 
spiritual  Jerusalem. 

Verse  16 :  "  And  he  hath  on  his 
vesture,  and  on  his  thigh,  a  name 
written,  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords."  This  title  has  been  usurped  by 
the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  in  substance,  if 
not  in  form,  applied  to  him  by  his  admi- 
rers. They  claim,  "that  the  Pope,  as 
supreme  king  of  all  the  world,  may 
impose  taxes  on  all  Christians,  and 
destroy  toivns  and  castles  for  the  preser- 
vation of  Christianity."  "  God  hath 
made  the  political  government  subject  to 
the  dominion  of  the  spiritual  church." 
(See  Barrow  on  the  Pope's  supremacy, 
pp.  15-18.) 

Such  is  the  blasphemous  presumption 
of  Antichrist:  and  hence  the  necessity  of 
the  King  in  Zion  exerting  his  almighty 
power,  and  vindicating  his  own  right  to 
the  headship  of  the  nations.  Therefore, 
hath  he  his  title  of  supreme  and  univer- 
sal dominion  written  or  enwoven,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  great  in  those 
days,  into  the  texture  of  that  part  of  his 
vesture  which  covers  the  thigh,  that  it 
may  be  seen  and  read  of  all  men. 

Thus  arrayed  in  grandeur  and  in 
glory,  the  Redeemer  is  represented  as 
proceeding  to  the  final  conflict,  which  is 


LECTURE  XXXI. 


277 


to  terminate  the  power  of  the  grand  con- 
federacy against  his  church;  to  break  in 
pieces  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  silver,  and 
the  gold,  and  to  dissipate  for  ever  the 
fragments  of  that  gigantic  power,  which 
for  so  many  centuries  has  trampled  upon 
the  church  of  God  and  the  governments 
of  the  earth. 

Verses  17,  18 :  "And  I  saw  an  angel 
standing  in  the  sun ;  and  he  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  fowls  that 
fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  Come  and 
gather  yourselves  together  unto  the 
supper  of  the  great  God ;  that  ye  may 
eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of 
captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men, 
and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that 
sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of  all  men, 
both  free  and  bond,  both  small  and 
great." 

In  chapter  xii.  we  had  occasion  to 
show  that  the  sun  is  an  emblem  of  moral 
light  and  purity,  as  well  as  of  governing 
power.  The  woman  clothed  with  the 
sun,  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  is  the 
church  arrayed  in  the  light  of  gospel 
truth.  The  beauty  of  the  emblem  is 
quite  obvious. 

The  sun  by  its  attractive  force  governs 
the  physical  system,  and  thus  represents 
the  controlling  power  in  any  system  of 
government,  but  as  the  source  of  light, 
it  is  well  adapted  to  designate  moral 
force ;  for  it  is  by  truth  that  moral 
agents  must  be  governed. 

In  the  passage  before  us,  the  angel 
standing  in  the  sun  is  the  Christian  mi- 
nistry, or  some  particular  portion  of  them, 
that  probably  represented  by  the  eagle,  a 
bird  that  approaches  nearest  to  the  sun, 
and  is  said  to  be  able  to  look  directly  in 
its  face.  He  is  enrobed  in  light — clearly 
and  fully  instructed  in  the  grand  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  and  especially  in 
reference  to  its  moral  bearings  upon  the 
destinies  of  mankind  ;  but  perhaps,  more 
especially,  thoroughly  furnished  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  prophetic  writings,  and 
thus  enlightened  by  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness. His  position  is  also  well  adapted  to 
express  the  idea  of  perfect  publicity  ;  he 
occupies  no  dark  corner ;  he  is  not,  as 
many  of  his  fellow-servants  have  been, 
thrust  into  some  doleful  cave  or  inacces- 


sible forest  of  the  mountain,  but  in  the 
very  centre  and  focus  of  light  and  of 
power,  he  lifts  up  his  voice,  and  delivers 
his  Lord's  message. 

2.  The  matter  of  this  message  is  an 
invitation  to  all  the  fowls  of  heaven,  to 
come  to  the  supper  of  the  great  God. 
The  detail  must  be  kept  in  subserviency 
to  the  main  design.  Therefore,  the  ne- 
cessity and  importance  of  ascertaining 
this,  before  we  proceed  to  particulars. 
The  whole  context  presents  the  alarming 
and  revolting  idea  of  a  vast  aceldama  of 
slaughter ;  where  mighty  princes,  and 
their  countless  troops  and  squadrons, 
having  mingled  in  hostile  conflict,  now 
lie,  in  ghastly  devastation,  spread  all 
over  the  great  plain,  a  prey  to  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  and  to  the  fowls  of  the  air. 
Invariably,  such  are  the  accompaniments 
of  bloody  war.  Here  God  represents 
this  incident  of  war,  as  a  feast  provided 
by  him  for  the  birds  of  prey.  In  Ezek. 
xxxix.  17,  a  similar  invitation  is  given, 
in  reference  to  the  war  of  Gog  and  Ma- 
gog ;  and  is  extended  to  beasts,  as  well 
as  birds.  "  Speak  unto  every  feathered 
fowl,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field,  As- 
semble yourselves,  and  come;  gather 
yourselves  on  every  side  to  my  sacrifice 
that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a  great 
sacrifice  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel, 
that  ye  may  eat  flesh,  and  drink  blood." 

Now,  it  can  be  perceived,  how  this 
must  be  in  a  literal  sense.  But,  are  we 
justified  in  holding  to  a  literal  meaning 
only,  or  can  we  with  any  propriety  un- 
derstand one  part  of  the  context  literally, 
and  others  figuratively?  If  not,  what  is 
the  symbolical  meaning?  If  the  angel  is 
part,  at  least,  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
what  is  heaven?  what  are  the  birds? 
what  the  supper? 

Heaven  is  the  church;  the  fowls,  there- 
fore, within  the  church,  are  the  inhabiters 
of  heaven,  the  members  of  the  church. 
This  accords  precisely  with  the  interpre- 
tation just  given  of the  angel:  he  preaches 
in  the  church,  and  its  members  hearken 
to  his  voice.  This  language  is  then  an 
invitation  to  the  Christian  world  to  come 
up  to  a  feast  provided  by  her  King.  But 
what  a  feast !  "  That  ye  may  eat  the 
flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains !" 


278 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Let  us  not  be  revolted.  The  natural 
fowls  do  devour  even  human  flesh  with 
great  zest,  and  this  animal  enjoyment 
bears  an  analogy  to  the  enjoyment  of 
God's  people,  upon  beholding  the  entire 
overthrow  of  his  and  their  enemies.  This 
is  the  supper  to  which  they  are  invited. 
We  see  no  incongruity  in  this  under- 
standing of  the  figures.  This  angel 
ministry,  calls  upon  the  members  of  the 
church  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  at  the  utter 
destruction  of  her  inveterate  and  irre- 
concilable foes,  as  the  birds  of  prey  do 
upon  the  discovery  of  a  fresh  battle-field 
flooded  with  blood. 

Verse  19  :  "  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  armies, 
gathered  together  to  make  war  against 
him  that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against 
his  army."  The  application  here  is  plain. 
This  describes  the  effect  of  that  mission 
to  which  our  attention  was  called,  under 
the  emblem  of  unclean  spirits,  like  frogs. 
They  went  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  earth 
to  gather  them  together  to  battle ;  and 
now  we  see  them  assembled  ;  at  their 
head,  the  beast  of  the  sea.  This  strength- 
ens the  presumption,  that  the  kings  of 
the  Roman  earth,  will,  prior  to  the  final 
catastrophe,  conspire  to  resuscitate  the 
imperial  dignity ;  as  the  centre  of  unity 
to  the  antichristian  interests.  As  already 
hinted,  the  house  of  Austria  will,  proba- 
bly, regain  the  purple,  and  stand  forth 
the  head  of  the  last  Papal  confederacy. 
Her  present  efforts  in  disseminating  Po- 
pery in  our  country,  falls  in  exactly  with 
this  idea. 

But,  as  before  stated,  whether  there 
shall  be  a  formal  resuscitation  of  the 
imperial  head  or  not,  the  power  is  there; 
and  there  are  the  kingdoms  who  give 
their  influence  to  him.  Their  armies 
are  present.  This  we  are  not  obliged 
to  take  figuratively,  for  the  obvious 
reason,  that  its  literal  construction  is 
necessary  to  fill  up  the  picture  and  ren- 
der it  consistent,  after  we  have  taken 
the  beast  and  the  angel  as  symbolical. 

The  object  of  this  congress  of  kings, 
and  their  armies,  is  also  explained, — "to 
make  war  against  him  that  sat  on  the 
horse,  and  against  his  army."  It  is  a  war 
under  pretence  of  religion ;  waged  against 


Messiah  himself,  for  the  destruction  of  his 
government  and  people,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  system  of  oppression 
under  which  the  church  of  God  and  the 
people  of  the  nations  have  groaned  for 
ages. 

We  have  now,  in  reference  to  that 
great  war  of  opinion  to  which  the  world 
looks  forward  with  deep  anxiety,  pointed 
out  the  parties ;  they  are  the  same  who 
have  been  in  the  field  of  conflict  since 
the  days  of  Paradise :  the  same  whom 
Daniel  beheld  under  various  aspects;  the 
two  great  and  irreconcilable  interests  of 
sin  and  of  holiness  :  the  same  kingdom 
of  the  giant  image  and  of  the  little  stone. 
The  real  parties,  to  reiterate  the  senti- 
ment once  more,  are  Satan  and  Jesus 
Christ.  The  latter  comprises  the  much 
smaller  portion  of  people  within  the 
same  territory,  who  hold  the  fundamental 
principle,  that  God  gave  the  earth,  and 
all  its  contents,  to  man,  and  not  to 
kings. 

Such  are  the  antagonist  and  irrecon- 
cilable interests,  which  must  and  will 
come  together  in  this  war  ;  but  which 
cannot  part,  unless  we  choose  to  say 
that  nonentity  parts  from  substantial 
existence.  The  greater  visible  power 
will  be  annihilated.  The  less  will  tri- 
umph, because  it  is  the  stronger,  through 
the  almighty  energies  of  its  divine 
leader. 

We  have  pointed  out  the  object  of  this 
war, — the  final  destruction  just  alluded 
to,  and  which  follows  in  verse  20,  "  And 
the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the 
false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles  be- 
fore him,  with  which  he  deceived  them 
that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast 
and  them  that  worshipped  his  image. 
These  both  were  cast  alive  into  a  lake 
of  fire  burning  with  brimstone." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  kings 
are  not  mentioned  here,  but  the  false 
prophet  is  ;  whereas  in  the  preceding 
verse,  they  are  named  among  the  bel- 
ligerents, but  he  is  not.  This  seems 
plainly  to  imply  their  comprehension 
within  the  beast ;  but  moreover,  the 
false  prophet  not  being  put  forward  as  a 
warrior,  is  accordant  with  the  general 
course  of  the  Papal  policy,  as  it  was 


LECTURE  XXXI. 


279 


that  of  the  Caliphs,  or  successors  of 
Mohammed.  Whilst  warlike  move- 
ments were  planned  and  directed  to  a 
great  extent  by  them,  they  themselves 
kept  in  the  background  as  to  actual 
conflict  on  the  ensanguined  plains. 

The  seizure  of  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet,  and  their  plunge  into  the  burn- 
ing lake,  are  the  chief  things  before  us. 
These  are  not  abstractions  merely  ;  but 
organized,  incarnate,  living  realities. 
The  men  in  whom  these  powers  are  for 
the  time  vested,  and  by  whom  they  are 
exercised,  are  the  impersonation,  as  it 
were,  of  the  powers,  and  consequently 
the  powers  that  oppress  and  persecute 
are  seized  when  the  men  are  seized  in 
whom  they  reside.  TJte  beast  teas  taken. 
The  ordinary  force  of  the  word  trans- 
lated was  taken,  is  that  of  seizure  by 
force,  as  a  legal  officer  seizes ;  or  a  sol- 
dier seizes  the  enemy  and  retains  him  a 
prisoner.  The  person  taken  comes  under 
the  power  of  the  captor. 

In  this  case  the  first  seized  is  the 
beast,  that  is,  the  person  or  persons  who 
stand  at  the  head  and  embody  the  civil 
power.  These  are  immediately  to  be 
made  prisoners.  And  along  with  them 
the  false  prophet  or  spiritual  despotism. 
This  is  defined  by  a  reference  to  its  ope- 
rations. 

It  wrought  miracles  before  the  beast ; 
by  means  of  which  he  deceived — not  the 
beast,  it  will  be  observed  ;  for  he  knew 
the  tricks  of  the  Popish  minion, — he 
perceived  the  legerdemain,  and  under- 
stood all  the  private  machinery  by  which 
these  false  miracles  were  sustained, — but 
he  deceived  by  them  the  people  who  had 
the  mark  of  the  beast;  that  is,  before 
explained,  who  had  been  brought  over  to 
his  views,  principles,  practices,  and  cha- 
racter, and  that  worshipped  his  image, 
or  bowed  down  to  the  Popedom,  in  su- 
preme veneration,  as  being  the  emperor 
spiritual.  This  system  of  deception  is 
now  advancing,  as  already  noticed,  over 
most  parts  of  Europe  ;  although  it  is  pro- 
bable it  will  not  progress  in  Catholic 
countries  as  well  as  in  Protestant ;  for 
the  reason  that  novelty  there  cannot  aid 
it  so  much  as  it  may  among  us.  We 
are,  perhaps,  better  prepared  and  more 


willing  to  be  deceived  by  pompous  show 
even  than  the  ignorant  masses  of  Euro- 
pean population.  But  the  deception  is 
referred  to  here  as  past ;  it  was  by  means 
of  these  arts  that  they  adopted  the  mark 
and  worshipped  the  image.  The  civil 
used  the  spiritual  despotism  as  an  instru- 
ment of  deception,  and  became  depend- 
ent thereon,  and  thus  the  dependence 
having  become  mutual,  the  coalition  is 
cemented  by  the  necessities  of  its  parts. 
This  cemented  combination  is  the  Anti- 
christ. Hence  the  union  of  these  parties 
in  their  seizure.  The  high  probabilities 
are,  that  the  Pope  himself  will  be  pre- 
sent with  the  grand  army  of  the  anti- 
christian  confederation;  at  least,  repre- 
sentatively he  will  be,  with  a  large  body 
of  his  most  active  agents  ;  who,  together 
with  the  civil  leaders,  will  be  arrested  by 
the  Christian  forces  on  the  field  of  death. 

But  the  literal  is  only  a  partial  and 
very  subordinate  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy. These  arrested  parties  are  to  be 
thrown  alive  into  the  burning  lake.  The 
individuals,  being  incorrigible  offenders, 
must  experience  the  vengeance  of  eter- 
nal fire ;  a  fire,  of  which  the  burning 
lake,  beneath  whose  scorching  billows 
sank  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the 
other  cities  of  the  plain,  to  rise  no  more, 
is  but  a  feeble  emblem.  The  fiery  bil- 
lows of  Jehovah's  unquenchable  wrath 
will  close  in  upon  them  for  ever. 

Nor  can  we,  without  violence  to  the 
text,  indulge  that  spurious  charity  which 
dethrones  justice  by  supposing  that  this 
is  all  figure,  but  shadows  forth  nothing. 
They  are  cast  alive  into  the  lake.  Surely 
this  is  designed  to  convey  the  idea  of 
real,  conscious  misery.  It  is  not  their 
dead  bodies,  but  themselves  alive,  that 
are  thus  precipitated  amid  fire  and  brim- 
stone. And  as  the  head  so  with  the 
body.  The  system  must  perish  with  the 
men  who  embody  it.  Nothing  can  more 
forcibly  represent  their  utter,  hopeless, 
and  painful  destruction,  than  the  lan- 
guage before  us. 

After  the  seizure  and  utter  destruction 
of  the  leaders  in  this  way,  there  shall 
be  a  remnant,  we  are  told,  who  shall  be 
slain.  Verse  21  :  "  And  the  remnant 
were  slain  with  the  sword  of  him  that 


280 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


sat  upon  the  horse,  which  sword  pro- 
ceeded out  of  his  mouth  :  and  all  the 
fowls  were  filled  with  their  flesh." 

The  remnant,  or  the  remaining  ones, 
evidently  implies  a  large  abstraction  from 
the  number  of  the  whole  armies.  Then- 
leaders  are  cut  off",  and  with  them  vast 
multitudes  besides ;  still  there  are  some 
left ;  and  of  these  the  apostle  speaks  in 
this  verse.  We  infer,  that  the  grand 
conflict  is  over ;  the  hosts  of  rebellion 
are  vanquished  and  chiefly  slain.  This 
corresponds  precisely  with  the  statement 
already  examined  (chap.  xi.  13),  where 
the  same  phrase  occurs,  and  in  reference 
to  the  same  transaction  :  "  the  remnant 
were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to  the 
God  of  heaven :"  "  the  remnant  were 
slain  with  the  sword."  Can  these  sig- 
nify the  same  thing  1     Let  us  examine. 

The  sword  that  slew  them  proceeded 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  hosts.     But  we  are  told  that  out 
of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing 
and  cursing ;  and  this  is  true  qualifiedly 
of  Messiah.     It  is  the  same  mouth  that 
pronounces    the   opposite    sentences    of 
judgment,  Depart  ye  cursed,  and,  Come 
ye  blessed.     If  then  we  understand  by 
the  sword,  the  word  of  God,  it  is  true  in 
relation  to  that  portion  that  were  slain 
or  cast  alive  into  the  fiery  lake,  in  the 
former  sense, — the  sword  of  judgment 
has   fallen  upon  them.     But  as  to  the 
others,  the   remnant,   it   is   true   in  the 
latter   sense ;    they    became   affrighted  ; 
they  are  convicted  of  sin,  and  converted, 
and  give  glory  to  God.     They  are  slain 
with  the  sword,  in  the  sense  of  Hosea : 
"  Therefore  have  I  hewed  them  by  the 
prophets ;    I    have    slain    them   by    the 
words   of  my   mouth."    (Chap.  vi.   5.) 
If  this  construction  be  maintained,  this 
slaying  is  a  dispensation  of  mercy.   The 
sword  of  the  Spirit  enters  the  hearts  of 
this  remnant;  they  are  convicted  and 
turned    to   the   Lord :    their   enmity    is 
slain.     If  the  other  meaning  be  carried 
out,  it  is  the  word  of  God's  judgments 
that  arms  the  sword  of  his  vengeance  for 
their  total  destruction.     To  the  former 
we  incline,  mainly  because  the  passage 
already  examined  (chap.  xi.  13)  undoubt- 
edly implies,  that  a  remnant  of  the  hostile 


army  will  be  converted :  and  other  places, 
as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  encourage  the  be- 
lief that  a  very  great  dispensation  of  mercy 
will  immediately  follow  this  fearful  judg- 
ment. Bishop  Faber  thinks  it  probable 
that  the  Jews  will  be  in  this  hostile  army, 
in  an  unconverted  state,  and  will  be  sud- 
denly and  miraculously  turned  unto  God. 
The  fowls  were  filled  with  their  flesh : 
the  triumphant  Christian  army  will  be 
enriched  by  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished. 
All  the  treasures  plundered  by  their  foes 
from  Egypt,  Jerusalem  and  other  places, 
will  be  found  in  the  camp  and  on  the 
field  of  combat.  But  there  is  a  higher 
and  more  important  meaning.  The  con- 
verted remnant  will  more  fully  enrich  the 
victors  with  a  feast  of  spiritual  rejoicing. 
With  what  heartfelt  exultation  will  the 
Redeemer's  friends  throw  open  their 
arms  to  receive  the  nations  that  will 
thus  be  born  in  a  day ! 

Such  is  the  apostle's  brief  account  of 
the  crisis,  in  this  great  and  extended 
conflict,  between  the  two  kingdoms  of 
Christ  and  of  Antichrist.  Henceforth 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  will  be  new- 
modelled,  on  principles  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  the  former,  and  compatible 
with  the  welfare  of  the  church  and  the 
glory  of  her  Head. 

We  have  several  collateral  passages 
of  Scripture  to  examine,  which  bear 
upon,  and  throw  light  on  this  same 
transaction ;  but  must  defer  them  for 
the  present,  and  close  with  a  few  practi- 
cal remarks. 

1.  War  may  be  conducted  on  princi- 
ples of  righteousness.  But  it  must  be, 
like  the  wars  of  Prince  Messiah,  for  the 
vindication  of  right,  and  not  for  conquest 
beyond  the  rights  of  the  crown.  Wars 
of  mere  ambition  are  of  course  iniquitous, 
and  must  sooner  or  later  bring  down  the 
wrath  of  the  King  of  kings. 

2.  The  grand  defect  in  the  bond  of 
our  national  union  is  the  absence  of  the 
recognition  of  God  as  the  Governor  of 
this  world.  We  have  omitted — may  it 
not  be  said  refused? — to  own  him  whose 
head  wears  many  crowns,  as  having 
any  right  of  dominion  over  us.  The 
constitution  of  these  United  States  con- 
tains no  express  recognition  of  the  being 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


281 


of  a  God  :  much  less  an  acknowledg- 
ment, that  The  Word  of  God,  sways 
the  sceptre  of  universal  dominion.  This 
is  our  grand  national  sin  of  omission. 
This  gives  the  infidel  occasion  to  glory, 
and  has  no  small  influence  in  fostering 
infidelity  in  affairs  of  state  and  among 
political  men.  That  the  nation  will  be 
blessed  with  peace  and  prosperity  con- 
tinuously, until  this  defect  be  remedied, 
no  Christian  philosopher  expects.  For 
this  national  insult,  the  Governor  of  the 
universe  will  lift  again  and  again  his 
rod  of  iron  over  our  heads,  until  we  be 
affrighted  and  give  this  glory  to  his 
name. 

3.  Deception  is  unwise  as  the  means 
of  increasing  a  party.  The  false  pro- 
phet deceived  mankind  into  his  toils. 
"  The  lying  tongue  is  but  for  a  mo- 
ment." Such  converts  and  the  system 
which  is  thus  built  up,  must  come  to 
nought  in  due  time.  In  politics  it  is 
unsafe ;  in  religion  it  is  despicable.  If 
misrepresentation  and  manoeuvring  be 
practised  to  gain  converts,  heaven's 
blessings  may  not  be  expected  to  follow 
it.  "  My  children  are  men  of  truth, 
that  will  not  lie."  Pretended  miracles, 
strange  and  marvellous  conversions,  and 
all  such  scenes  to  deceive  the  simple, 
savour  of  the  man  of  sin,  and  belong, 
whether  formally  or  not,  to  the  son  of 
perdition :  and  to  perdition  with  him 
shall  they  go,  in  the  proper  time. 

4.  That  charity  which  is  too  tender 
to  inflict  punishment  due  upon  crime, 
belongs  not  to  the  King  of  kings.  It  is 
spurious  and  sickly.  Sufficient  for  the 
servant  that  he  be  as  his  Master.  If 
the  tenderness  of  our  sympathies  equal 
his,  it  will  be  well  with  us.  But  let  us 
take  heed  how  we  throw  out  our  hand 
to  arrest  the  downward  strokes  of  the 
rod  of  his  judgments.  When  he  treads 
the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and 
wrath  of  Almighty  God,  let  us  beware 
how  we  censure  him,  or  how,  prospec- 
tively, we  revolt  at  the  expressed  pur- 
poses of  his  vengeance. 

5.  We  learn  from  this  context,  that 
tyranny  never  lets  go  its  grasp ;  its 
sceptre  is  held  with  the  gripe  of  death. 
Many  good  people  seem  to  think,  that 

36 


the  kings  of  the  earth  are  gradually  re- 
laxing as  light  pervades  the  mass  of  the 
people  ;  and  they  are  thus  prepared  for 
self-government :  the  powers  that  be, 
are  yielding  quietly  to  them.  Thus,  it 
is  supposed  the  element  of  freedom  will 
gradually  advance,  until  Europe  will 
stand  disenthralled,  and  that  without  a 
struggle.  Vain  delusion  !  Does  not 
every  one  see  that  all  concessions  from 
kings  to  the  people  have  been  granted, 
simply  because  they  could  not  longer 
be  withholden  ?  Has  not  the  trenching 
of  the  popular  element  upon  power  been 
the  work  of  centuries?  And  yet  how 
much  remains  to  be  wrested  in  this 
way  !  Prophecy  tells  us,  that  the  scep- 
tres of  oppressive  rule  must  be  broken 
in  the  hands  of  those  that  hold  them,  or 
snatched  from  them ;  or  rather,  that 
sceptre  and  hand  together  will  be  thrown 
into  the  burning  lake. 


LECTURE  XXXII. 

THE    LAST  DAY THE  TIME  OF  THE  END 

THE    WAR    OF    THE    KINGS    OF   THE 

NORTH  AND  SOUTH,  AND  OF  GOG. 

Dan.  xi.  40-45  ;  xii.  1 . 

Into  questions  of  chronology  this 
course  of  lectures  has  often  led  us. 
There  are,  however,  two  or  three  points 
yet  unsettled  ;  or  at  least,  certain  ques- 
tions relative  to  two  or  three  points  have 
not  been  fully  examined. 

When  treating  of  the  rise  of  the  Papal 
and  Mohammedan  apostacies,  we  placed 
the  date  at  A.  D.  606,  without  suffi- 
ciently discussing  the  whole  subject ; 
especially  in  reference  to  the  former. 
It  may  be  proper  now  to  redeem  our 
promise  in  this  behalf.  (See  Lee.  ix.) 
On  this  question  depends  the  date  of  the 
great  events  yet  future. 

It  was  intimated  to  Daniel  that  the 
book  would  be  sealed  and  not  intelligible 
"  even  to  the  time  of  the  end  ;"  but  that 
then  there  would  be  new  light  shed  upon 
it, — "  knowledge  shall  be  increased." 


282 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Admitting  that  God's  design  is  to  con- 
ceal precise  dates,  we  may  nevertheless, 
without  any  presumption,  study  and 
compare  scriptures  that  speak  of  times 
and  seasons,  with  a  view  to  a  general 
idea,  and  the  probable  period  of  "  the 
great  earthquake."  Preparatory  to  this, 
we  now  take  up  the  phrases,  "  last 
days,"  or  "  latter  days,"  and  "  time  of 
the  end,"  as  having  an  important  bear- 
ing upon  these  important  dates.  We 
agree  in  the  main  here,  with  Bishop 
Faber ;  but  shall  endeavour  to  bring  the 
argument  for  our  opinion  to  a  more 
thorough  close.  He  has  well  remarked, 
as  the  truth  is,  that  last  days,  and  latter 
days,  are  phrases  by  which  the  same 
Hebrew  words  are  rendered  into  English. 
But  he  has  not  said  all  that  truth  re- 
quired here. 

The  Hebrew  word  for  last,  (flHriN*) 

means  uttermost  part,  or  most  distant 
part  of  a  thing,  as  was  remarked  when 
speaking  of  the  rise  of  the  Mohammedan 
power.  Dan.  viii.  23, — "  in  the  latter 
time  of  their  kingdom ;"  latter  time  here, 
is  the  very  word  before  us,  and  should 
be,  last  part,  referring,  as  the  same  word 
does  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  9, — "  tittermost parts 
of  the  sea,"  to  place,  and  not  to  time :  it 
marks  the  locality  of  the  goat's  little 
horn,  the  iast  or  most  distant  part. 

But  the  chief  defect  is  the  omission  of 
the  article,  which  the  Hebrew  text  has 
prefixed  to  days;  the  days,  or  these  days. 
Such  is  the  proper  force  of  the  article  : 
it  is  not  only  definite,  but  it  is  also  de- 
monstrative;  it  specifically  points  out 
the  subject.  Thus,  Psalm  ii.  7,  "  Thou 
art  my  son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee."  So  in  the  phrase  before  us ;  in 
the  last  part  of  these  days,  signifies  a 
certain  specific  period,  or  number  of 
days,  whose  close  or  end  is  referred  to. 

With  these  explanations,  let  us  examine 
cases ;  if  not  all,  at  least  a  sufficient 
number  to  satisfy  our  judgments  as  to 
the  force  of  the  phrase. 

Gen.  xlix.  1.  Jacob  calls  together  his 
6ons,  that  he  may  tell  them  what  shall 
befall  them  "  in  the  last  days."  But  his 
prophetic  delineations  of  Judah's  and 
Joseph's  character  run  on  to  the  times 


of  Israel's  restoration,  and  the  glorious 
reign  of  Messiah. 

Num.  xxiv.  13  :  "I  will  advertise  thee 
what  this  people  shall  do  to  thy  people 
in  the  last  days."  The  unhappy  prophet 
then  depicts,  in  glowing  colours,  the  fu- 
ture glory  of  Messiah's  kingdom.  "  I 
shall  see  him,  but  not  now ;  I  shall  be- 
hold him,  but  not  nigh  :  there  shall  come 
a  Star  out  of  Jacob, — out  of  Jacob  shall 
come  he  that  shall  have  dominion."  It 
is  a  prophecy  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
great  mountain  ;  it  refers  to  the  end  of 
the  days  of  Israel's  depression,  at  and 
after  which  Zion  shall  arise  and  shine. 

Deut.  iv.  30  :  "  When  thou  art  in  tri- 
bulation, and  all  these  things  are  come 
upon  thee,  even  in  the  latter  days,  if  thou 
turn  to  the  Lord  thy  God,  he  will  not 
forsake  thee,  neither  destroy  thee."  And 
xxxi.  29, — "and  evil  will  befall  you  in 
the  latter  days."  In  the  former  of  these, 
it  is  unequivocal ;  it  has  reference  to  the 
evils  for  which  Israel  was  cut  off,  and  to 
the  close  of  the  period  of  his  depression. 
The  latter  refers  to  the  same  evils  which 
caused  the  dispersion  ;  but  it  is  elliptical, 
and  consequently,  not  so  specific, — ap- 
pearing to  apply  the  phrase  to  the  earlier 
times  of  Israel's  sins,  rather  than  to  the 
close  of  those  times.  This  passage  must 
be  explained  in  connexion  with  the  for- 
mer, which,  on  the  same  subject,  is  more 
full,  and  thus  bears  relation  to  the  con- 
cluding period  of  Israel's  evil-doing  and 
suffering. 

Isaiah  ii.  2:  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills ;  and  all  nations 
shall  flow  unto  it."  This  is  perfectly 
clear  ;  it  expressly  speaks  of  the  restora- 
tion of  Israel :  of  course  the  last  part  of 
these  days  alludes  to  the  days  or  period 
of  Israel's  dispersion  and  disgrace. 

Jer.  xxiii.  20 :  "  The  anger  of  the 
Lord  shall  not  return^  until  he  have  exe- 
cuted, and  till  he  have  performed  the 
thought  of  his  heart :  in  the  latter  days 
ye  shall  consider  it  perfectly."  Equally 
plain  is  this  passage.  We  have  here  the 
same  dispensation  of  Jehovah's  wrath 
upon  the  seed  of  Jacob  for  their  iniqui- 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


283 


ties,  and  the  same  repentance  on  their 
part,  which  is  immediately  followed  by 
their  restoration. 

Jer.  xxx.  24 :  "  In  the  latter  days  ye 
shall  consider  it :"  and  in  the  next  verse 
it  is  added  :  "  At  the  same  time," — the 
last  part  of  the  days  of  distress,— "  will 
I  be  the  God  of  all  the  families  of  Israel, 
and  they  shall  be  my  people." 

In  chap,  xlviii.  47,  the  prophet  speaks 
of  the  restoration  of  Moab  from  capti- 
vity, and  in  xlix.  39,  of  the  restoration 
of  Elam :  both  at  the  latter  part  of  the 
days ;  and  Daniel  mentions  Moab  as  one 
that  shall  escape  the  power  of  the  anti- 
christian  tyranny  in  the  end  of  the  days. 
These  may,  therefore,  be  fairly  placed 
as  examples  of  the  same  specific  period. 

Ezekiel,  (xxxviii.  16,)  speaking  of  the 
war  of  Gog,  says,  "  Thou  shalt  come  up 
against  my  people  of  Israel; — it  shall  be 
in  the  latter  days."  According  to  the 
more  generally  received  interpretation, 
this  would  place  the  last  part  of  these 
days  beyond  the  millennium  :  certainly 
then  not  at  a  time  anterior  to  the  resto- 
ration of  the  whole  house  of  Israel. 

Hosea  iii.  5:  "Afterwards  shall  the 
children  of  Israel  return,  and  seek  the 
Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  king; 
and  shall  fear  the  Lord  and  his  goodness 
in  the  latter  days." 

Micah  iv.  1  :  "  But  in  the  last  days  it 
shall  come  to  pass  that  the  mountain  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  esta- 
blished in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and 
people  shall  flow  unto  it."  These  are 
almost  the  precise  words  of  Isaiah,  and 
leave,  like  those  of  Hosea,  no  room  for 
hesitancy. 

Thus  all  the  passages  we  are  able  to 
refer  to,  combine  to  settle  the  question  of 
relative  date  ;  the  latter  days,  or  the  last 
days,  mark  the  last  part  of  the  season 
of  sorrow  and  depression  to  Israel,  and 
of  course  also  confirm,  or  synchronize 
with,  the  period  of  his  restoration. 

We  proceed  to  the  other  phrase, 
(VpnV — eth  ketz>)  *f  our  search  has 
not  been  unsuccessful,  (as  it  readily 
may  be,  having  no  Hebrew  Concord- 
ance at  hand,)  it  occurs  only  in  Daniel: 


our  labour,  therefore,  will  be  light.  The 
first  case  in  order  is  in  chap.  viii.  17  : 
"  Understand,  O  son  of  man,  for  at  the 
time  of  the  end  shall  be  the  vision," — 
the  vision  will  be  accomplished.  This 
is  embraced  in  Gabriel's  explanation. 
Daniel  had  seen  the  ram  and  the  he 
goat,  and  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
understand  the  meaning  of  the  symboli- 
cal things  and  the  symbolical  actions ; 
and  especially  as  to  the  polluting  tri- 
umphs of  the  little  horn.  He  had  asked 
as  to  its  duration,  and  was  answered, 
that  the  pollutions  should  be  brought  to 
an  end  in  two  thousand  three  hundred, 
or,  as  a  reading  mentioned  by  Jerome, 
two  hundred  days.  But  Gabriel  is  di- 
rected farther  to  explain ;  and  he  pro- 
ceeds to  say,  that  the  indignation,  that 
is,  of  God,  against  his  own  people  for 
their  sin  which  caused  these  calamities, 
had  an  end  and  bound  fixed  to  them ; 
verse  19  :  the  last  part  of  the  indigna- 
tion ;  for  there  is  a  determined  period  of 
the  end.  So  in  Hab.  ii.  3 :  "  For  the 
vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed  time;"  it 
hath  a  specific  period  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. The  word  here  used  is  the  same 
as  in  Dan.  viii.  19,  but  different  from  the 
phrase  before  us,  and; thus  expository  of 
it.  There  is  a  season^as  the  word  trans- 
lated, time  of  the  end,  means, — a  season 
within  which  the  vision,  as  to  the  events 
which  Daniel  felt  to  be  peculiarly  inte- 
resting, shall  take  place. 

The  other  term,  end,  signifies  simply, 
cutting  off,  or  cutting  down,  as  in  Hab. 
ii.  10  :  "  Thou  hast  consulted  shame  to 
thy  house  in  cutting  off many  people." 
Thus  the  force  of  the  phrase  is  evident, 
— the  season  of  the  cutting  off.  Gabriel 
here  refers  Daniel  to  the  period  or  por- 
tion of  time  allotted  by  God  to  the  work 
of  his  vengeance,  in  cutting  off  the 
wicked  nations,  as  the  season  also  of 
the  purifying  of  the  sanctuary. 

In  chap.  xi.  35,  we  have  the  next 
instance  of  this  phrase, — "  to  try  them, 
and  to  purge,  and  to  make  white,  even 
to  the  time  of  the  end," — the  season  of 
cutting  off. 

In  chap.  xii.  4  and  9,  we  find  the  only 
remaining  cases  :  "  Shut  up  the  words, 
and  seal  the  book,  even  to  the  time  of 


284 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


the  end  :"  and  upon  the  prophet's  ex- 
pressing great  anxiety  to  understand 
farther  the  vision,  he  is  told  again,  "  Go 
thy  way,  Daniel  ;  for  the  words  are 
closed  up  and  sealed  to  the  time  of  the 
end."  When  that  season  approaches, 
"  many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  know- 
ledge shall  be  increased ;"  the  book  of 
providence  will  be  expository  of  this 
prophecy;  "the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah"  will  open  the  seals,  and  reveal 
the  secrets  they  cover ;  "  none  of  the 
wicked  shall  understand,  but  the  wise 
shall  understand." 

It  is  plain  then  that  not  a  point  or 
juncture  of  time, — not  a  particular  mo- 
ment in  duration,  is  marked  by  this 
season  of  cutting  off",  but  a  period  or  por- 
tion comprehending  a  number  of  differ- 
ent and  complex  operations  and  events. 
To  our  mind  there  cannot  be  raised  a 
just  objection  against  the  application 
made  of  this  phrase  to  the  period  which 
Gabriel  mentions  as  commencing  imme- 
diately upon  the  close  of  the  "  time, 
times,  and  an  half,"  (xii.  7.)  The  ter- 
mination or  last  part  of  these  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  days  or  years,  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  end,  or  cutting  oft'. 
The  period  itself  comprehends  seventy- 
five  years,  divided  into  two  sections,  one 
of  thirty  prophetic  days,  or  years,  and 
one  of  forty-five,  (chap.  xii.  11,  12.) 

We  may  here  notice  another  view  of 
the  times  of  Israel's  depression, — the 
days.  It  is  held  by  the  Rev.  Edward 
Bickersteth,  and  the  Literal  School,  that 
the  expression,  seven  times,  which  occurs 
in  Lev.  xxvi.  18,  21,  24,  28,  is  to  be 
taken  for  seven  prophetic  times  or  years  ; 
that  is,  seven  times  three  hundred  and 
sixty,  or  two  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  as  marking  the  duration 
from  the  captivity  of  Jacob,  which  took 
place  six  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
years  before  Christ,  when  Manasseh, 
King  of  Judah,  was  carried  captive  to 
Babylon,  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11.)  From 
this  they  discover  that  the  restoration  of 
Judah  will  occur  in  1843  :  because  the 
two  sums  make  just  two  thousand  five 
hundred  and  twenty. 

Other  coincidences  are  also  pointed 
out.      Tiglath   Pilezer,  it    is  said,  was 


called  in  by  Ahaz,  King  of  Judah,  to 
assist  him  against  Israel :  he  slew  Resen, 
King  of  Israel,  and  carried  off*  a  part  of 
the  people.  This  occurred  B.  C.  740  : 
and  just  two  thousand,  five  hundred  and 
twenty  years  after,  the  French  were 
called  in  by  the  Americans,  and  im- 
parted revolutionary  principles  back  to 
France.  In  B.  C.  731,  Shalmanezer 
invaded  Palestine,  and  brought  Samaria 
under  tribute ;  two  thousand,  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years  after,  in  1789, 
the  French  republican  movement  com- 
menced. In  B.  C.  727,  the  same  king 
carried  Israel  into  captivity  ;  and  two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty  years 
after,  in  1793,  the  French  Revolution 
burst  upon  the  world.  Some  other  co- 
incidences of  the  kind  are  presented, 
and  hence  the  inference  is  strengthened, 
that  these  several  dates  are  so  many 
beginnings  and  terminations  of  the  days 
of  indignation  or  depression  of  Israel. 
Particularly  727,  is  relied  upon ;  be- 
cause of  a  double  coincidence.  Half 
the  period  of  two  thousand,  five  hundred 
and  twenty,  is  equal  to  the  prophetic 
days  of  Daniel  and  of  John :  and  de- 
ducting B.  C.  727,  from  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty,  brings  us  to  A.  D.  533,  the 
year  in  which  Justinian  issued  an  edict, 
declaring  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  Universal 
Bishop, — the  era  on  which  this  school 
fix  for  the  rise  of  the  Antichrist ;  then 
adding  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  to 
this,  we  are  brought  to  1793,  the  era  of 
the  French  Revolution,  which  many 
English  commentators  fix  upon,  as  at 
least  the  inchoate  end  of  the  days, 
restoration  of  Israel,  and  death  of  An- 
tichrist. 

Against  all  this,  there  is  one  insupera- 
ble objection.  At  the  end  of  the  days, 
the  witnesses  are  to  be  slain,  lie  dead 
three  and  a  half  days,  and  then  revive. 
But  no  event  answering  to  these  took 
place  immediately  after  1793.  This 
scheme,  therefore,  though  ingenious  and 
curious,  is  fanciful.  There  is  also  a 
little  trimming  necessary  in  order  to 
make  the  dates  suit. 

Let  us  proceed  now  with  the  exposi- 
tion. Verse  40,  "And  at  the  time  of 
the  end  shall  the  king  of  the  south  push 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


285 


at  him  ;  and  the  king  of  the  north  shall 
come  against  him  like  a  whirlwind,  with 
chariots,  and  with  horsemen,  and  with 
many  ships  ;  and  he  shall  enter  into  the 
countries,  and  shall  overflow,  and  pass 
over." 

The  date  first  calls  for  our  attention, 
"  at  the  time  of  the  end,"  in,  or  during 
the  season  of  cutting  off.  It  is  conse- 
quent upon  the  last  part  of  the  days  of 
depression;  after  the  slaying  and  revival 
of  the  witnesses.  For  it  will  be  remem- 
bered they  are  to  be  slain  when  they 
shall  have  finished  their  testimony ;  and 
they  were  to  testify  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  days  clothed  in  sackcloth.  The 
war  of  these  two  kings  must  therefore 
be  posterior  to  the  revival  of  the  wit- 
nesses. 

It  will  be  less  difficult  for  us  to  deter- 
mine what  power  the  king  of  the  south 
is,  by  determining  first  the  character 
and  locality  of  his  adversary.  The  for- 
mer shall  wage  war  with  the  wilful  king 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse, — the 
Antichrist :  then  the  latter  will  assail 
him  with  great  spirit,  and  at  first,  with 
triumphant  success.  Who  is  this  north- 
ern power  1 

Our  position  here  is,  and  one  previ- 
ously maintained,  that  there  will  be  a 
grand  alliance  of  all  the  interests  of 
despotism,  not  simply  in  the  Roman 
earth,  but  in  all  Europe,  and  especially 
including  Russia.  This  alliance  is  "the 
king  of  the  north,"  and  its  leader  is  the 
Gog  of  Ezekiel  (xxxviii.)  We  invite 
attention  to  this  last  position  ;  which 
claims  to  prove  the  identity  of  Gog  and 
the  king  of  the  north. 

This  is  evinced  by  the  dates  of  the 
wars  :  these  are  nearly  the  same ; — at 
the  time  of  the  end.  So  in  Ezekiel, 
verse  16,  as  already  quoted  and  exa- 
mined, it  is,  "  in  the  latter  days,"  in  the 
last  part  of  the  days.  But  this  corre- 
sponds with  the  beginning  of  the  season 
of  cutting  off.  The  war  of  Gog  must 
therefore  be  expected  shortly  after  the 
termination  of  these  days,  and  so,  con- 
sequently, within  the  time  of  the  end. 

The  quarter  of  the  world  whence  this 
invasion  comes  leads  to  the  same  con- 
clusion.    His  name  and  the  direction  of 


his  march  show  him  to  be  the  king  of 
the  north  :  and  so  the  names  of  Ezekiel's 
nations  and  his  declaration,  are  decisive; 
verse  6, — "  Gomer  and  all  his  bands ; 
the  house  of  Togarmah  of  the  north 
quarters,  and  all  his  bands  ;" — verse 
15, — "  thou  shalt  come  from  thy  place 
out  of  the  north  parts." 

The  restoration  of  Israel,  and  their  oc- 
cupancy of  the  country  of  their  fathers, 
is  expressly  affirmed  in  the  prophecy  of 
Gog,  and  it  is  against  the  restored  na- 
tion that  the  war  is  waged.  Verse  8, — 
"  In  the  latter  years  thou  (Gog)  shalt 
come  into  the  land  that  is  brought  back 
from  the  sword,  and  is  gathered  out  of 
many  people,  against  the  mountains  of 
Israel,  which  have  been  always  waste; 
but  it  is  brought  forth  out  of  the  nations, 
and  they  shall  dwell  safely,  all  of  them:" 
— safely,  or  securely,  apprehensive  of  no 
danger.  Israel  shall  be  dwelling  safely, 
all  of  them  without  walls.  The  whole 
prophecy  renders  this  exceedingly  plain. 

The  same  is  true  as  to  the  war  be- 
tween the  kings  of  the  south  and  the 
north,  though  not  so  explicitly  men- 
tioned by  Daniel  here.  "  And  he  shall 
plant  the  tabernacles  of  his  palace  be- 
tween the  seas,  in  the  glorious  holy 
mountain."  From  these  expressions  it 
is  a  fair  inference,  that  the  land  is  at  the 
time  occupied  by  the  people  who  con- 
stitute it  a  glorious  and  holy  land :  at 
present,  as  trodden  down  by  the  abomi- 
nation of  desolation,  it  is  not  glorious 
and  holy.  Besides,  we  have  seen  that 
the  end  of  the  days  is  the  termination  of 
the  captivity.  Thus,  this  war  of  Gog 
is  a  war  against  restored  Israel,  and  is 
evidently  occasioned  by  dissatisfaction 
with  the  restoration.  Thus  an  object  with 
both  is  to  afflict  and  crush  restored  Israel. 

Another  object  is  common  to  both. 
It  is  "  to  take  a  spoil, — to  take  a  prey, 
to  carry  away  silver  and  gold,  to  take 
away  cattle  and  goods,  to  take  a  great 
spoil."     (Ez.  xxxviii.  13.) 

So  the  king  of  the  north  "  shall  have 
power  over  the  treasures  of  gold  and  of 
silver,  and  over  all  the  precious  things 
of  Egypt."  (Dan.  xi.  43.)  This  unity 
of  object  is  not  without  force  towards 
identifying  the  expeditions. 


286 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


We  may  notice  their  course  farther  as 
to  remote  pointsof  their  invasion.  "Persia 
and  Lybia  with  them."  (Ez.  xxxviii.  5.) 
So  Daniel  also  says, — "  the  Ethiopians 
and  Ly  bians  shall  be  at  his  steps,"  (xi.  43.) 

Their  armies  are  similar.  Gog  has 
"  horses  and  horsemen,  .  .  .  many  peo- 
people  with  thee,  all  of  them  riding  upon 
horses."  The  king  of  the  north  has 
"  chariots,  and  horsemen,  and  many 
ships."  Ezekiel  does  not  indeed  men- 
tion chariots  nor  ships.  But  no  army 
is  without  the  former ;  and  he  speaks  of 
their  destination  to  the  isles  (xxxix.  6), 
which  implies  the  possession  of  the  lat- 
ter. Their  forces  are  also  both  very 
numerous,  and  consist  of  various  na- 
tions,— a  confederacy. 

The  similarity  of  phrase  and  figure, 
as  to  the  manner  of  their  invasion,  is  also 
worthy  of  notice.  Gog  shall  "  ascend 
and  come  like  a  storm,  thou  shalt  be 
like  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land."  So 
"  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come  against 
him  like  a  whirlwind." 

Gog  perishes  in  the  holy  land.  "  Thou 
shalt  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel," 
(xxxix.  4.)  So  "  the  king  of  the  north 
plants  the  tabernacles  of  his  pavilion  in 
the  glorious  holy  mountain,"  and  there 
Michael  the  Prince  stands  up  and  smites 
him  to  destruction. 

Thus  the  king  of  the  north  and  Gog 
enter  upon  their  expedition  at  the  same 
time  ;  they  proceed  from  the  same  quar- 
ter of  the  world ;  their  armies  are  im- 
mensely numerous,  and  are  composed 
of  the  same  kind  of  forces ;  they  are 
collected  from  the  same  nations;  they 
come  with  the  same  storm-like  sweep ; 
they  pursue  the  same  track  ;  they  termi- 
nate their  most  southern  elongation  at 
the  same  Arabian  and  Lybian  deserts ; 
they  fall  upon  the  same  restored  Israel ; 
they  both  seek  the  same  gold,  and  silver, 
and  spoils ;  and  they  both  perish  in 
"  the  glorious,  holy  land."  Can  any 
one  doubt  their  identity?  Gog,  we  then 
conclude,  is  "  king  of  the  north," — the 
head  and  leader  of  the  antichristian  com- 
bination. 

Other  prophecies  there  are  which  refer 
to  this  same  war :  two  or  three  of  the 
principal  we  must  also  identify. 


The  war  of  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat 
(Joel  iii.)  is  the  same  with  that  of  Gog 
and  the  kings  of  the  north  and  south. 

The  word  Jehoshaphat  is  the  proper 
name  of  the  son  of  Asa,. King  of  Judah 
(2  Chron.  xvii.  1,  2),  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  David's  line.  It  is  the 
name,  for  some  time  allotted,  though 
not  in  scripture,  to  the  valley  which 
divides  Jerusalem  from  Mount  Olivet. 
It  is  presented  as  the  name  of  a  valley 
in  the  prophecy  of  Joel  now  before  us. 
Some  have  supposed  that  Joel  alludes  to 
the  valley  near  Tekah,  about  twenty 
miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  where  King 
Jehoshaphat  gained,  without  fighting,  a 
very  celebrated  victory  over  the  united 
forces  of  Ammon,  Moab  and  Seir.  (See 
2  Chron.  xx.)  The  allusion  we  think  is 
undoubted ;  but  not  so  as  to  use  the 
term  Jehoshaphat  as  the  proper  name  of 
the  place  of  the  victory  :  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  its  even  having  been  so  called. 
The  allusion  is  simply  to  the  complete- 
ness and  the  character  of  the  victory. 
It  was  a  signal  judgment  of  God,  and 
the  place  was  called,  from  the  thanks 
and  benedictions  of  the  Israelites,  the 
valley  of  Berachah,  or  blessing. 

But  farther  :  the  word  Jehoshaphat,  in 
English,  signifies  the  judgment  of  the 
Lord.  There  is  here  a  beautiful  para- 
nomasia,  whereby  an  historical  allusion, 
most  forcibly  illustrative  of  the  com- 
pleteness and  nature  of  the  coming  vic- 
tory, is  made  by  the  word,  as  a  proper 
name ;  and  also  a  graphic  description  of 
the  coming  war  in  the  word  understood 
as  an  appellative, — the  judgment  of  the 
Lord.  So  the  place  is  called  "  the  val- 
ley of  the  Lord's  judgment."  "  Let  the 
heathen  be  wakened,  and  come  up  to  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  the  valley  of  the 
Lord's  judgment,  for  there  will  I  sit, 
(Shaphat,)  to  judge  all  the  heathen  round 
about."  (Joel.  iii.  12.)  Thus  the  prophet 
explains  the  figure  and  allusion.  We 
cannot  avoid  perceiving  here  the  simila- 
rity of  circumstance  to  the  scarlet-co- 
loured woman  and  beast  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. "  Come  hither,  I  will  show  thee 
ike  judgment  of  the  great  whore."  (xvii. 
2.)  This  judgment  is  the  seventh  or 
vintage  vial,  in  the  season  of  cutting  off; 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


287 


and  in  describing  the  leader  of  the  op- 
posing forces,  it  is  said,  "  in  righteous- 
ness doth  He  judge  and  make  war." 
The  destruction  of  mystic  Babylon  is 
the  judgment  of  the  Lord,  and  the  place 
where  it  will  occur  may  well  be  called 
the  valley  of  decision,  the  valley  of  Je- 
hoshaphat. 

The  time  of  this  judgment  identifies  it 
with  Gog's  war  with  the  king  of  the  south. 
It  is  at  the  time  of  Israel's  restoration  ; 
verse  1  :  "  when  I  shall  bring  again  the 
captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem."  And 
to  prevent  the  mistake  of  referring  it  to 
the  restoration  from  Babylon  at  the  end 
of  seventy  years,  we  are  told  that  it  re- 
lates to  a  captivity  among  the  western 
nations.  Verse  6  :  "  The  children  also 
of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Jer  sa- 
lem,  have  ye  sold  unto  the  Grecians,  that 
ye  might  remove  them  far  from  their 
border."  But  now  this  restoration  syn- 
chronized with  the  wars  in  question,  and 
thus  the  war  in  the  valley  of  the  Lord's 
judgment  must  be  identical  with  that  of 
Gog. 

The  generality  of  this  war  evinces 
the  same.  "I  will  gather  all  nations." 
"  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come,  all 
ye  heathen."  "  Multitudes,  multitudes 
in  the  valley  of  decision."  In  such  man- 
ner the  nations  are  congregated  in  God's 
army. 

Their  destruction  is  entire ;  God  will 
triumph  ;  and  his  enemies  be  completely 
destroyed  in  both  alike. 

We  may  add  here,  while  the  text  is 
before  us,  a  proof  of  the  identity  of  all 
these  wars  with  the  war  of  the  seventh 
or  vintage  vial  of  the  Apocalypse.  "Put 
ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe ; 
come,  get  ye  down,  for  the  press  is  full, 
the  fats  overflow;  for  the  wickedness  is 
great."  (Joel  iii.  13.)  The  vine-gather- 
ing is  evidently  referred  to ;  and  the 
word  translated  harvest,  is  applicable  to 
the  collecting  of  the  grapes,  as  well  as 
grain.  So  in  Isaiah  xvi.  9 :  "  I  will  be- 
wail with  the  weeping  of  Jazer  the  vine 
of  Sibmah, — for  thy  harvest  is  fallen." 
In  Joel  also  (i.  11)  this  word  is  applied 
to  the  vintage  :  "  Be  ye  ashamed,  O  ye 
husbandmen  ;  howl,  O  ye  vine-dressers, 
for  the  wheat  and  for  the  barley ;  be- 


cause the  harvest  of  the  field  is  perished." 
Hence  is  borrowed  the  Apocalyptic  sym- 
bols of  the  harvest  and  the  vintage,  the 
two  great  periods  of  cutting  off;  and 
thus  we  identify  the  vintage  of  Joel  and 
of  John. 

The  same  war  is  mentioned  by  Ze- 
phaniah,  (chap.  iii.  5,  6,  19,)  in  con- 
nexion with  the  restoration  of  Israel, 
"  from  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia," 
the  overflowings  of  Cush,  the  most  dis- 
tant ravages  of  the  Saracenic  locusts,  or 
Cushites.  Haggai  also  names  it,  and 
specifies  that  "  the  horses  and  their 
riders  shall  come  down,  every  one  by 
the  sword  of  his  brother." 

Zechariah  is  the  only  other  which  we 
may  delay  to  notice  particularly.  His 
language  is  probably  designed  not  to  be 
fully  understood  until  after  the  event. 
Still  its  obscurity  does  not  justify  us  in 
neglecting  it  altogether.  We  may  partly 
understand,  and  may  profit  much  by  it. 
He  will  have  us  to  know  that  Israel  will 
be  restored  to  his  own  land.  "  The 
Lord  also  shall  save  the  tents  of  Judah." 

This  restored  people  shall  be  assaulted 
by  a  general  confederacy  of  the  nations  ; 
the  city  shall  be  taken,  and  the  people 
carried  away.  Chap.  xiv.  2  :  "  For  I 
will  gather  all  nations  against  Jerusalem 
to  battle  ;  and  the  city  shall  be  taken, 
and  the  houses  rifled,  and  the  women 
ravished  ;  and  half  of  the  city  shall  go 
forth  into  captivity,  and  the  residue  of 
the  people  shall  not  be  cut  off  from  the 
city."  Now  this  accords  with  the  war 
of  Gog  and  the  King  of  the  North.  It 
is  waged  against  restored  Israel,  and 
they  succeed  at  first,  and  carry  off 
much  spoil,  as,  in  verse  first,  is  here 
mentioned. 

Then  the  Lord's  indignation  will  turn 
from  his  people  to  their  foes.  Verse  3  : 
"  Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth  and  fight 
against  those  nations,  as  when  he  fought 
in  the  day  of  battle."  This  is  the 
Michael  of  Daniel,  and  the  King  of 
kings  of  John.  This  is  he  who  says, 
"  My  fury  shall  come  up  in  my  face  ; 
for  in  my  jealousy  and  in  the  fire  of  my 
wrath  have  I  spoken,  Surely  in  that  day 
there  shall  be  51  great  shaking  in  the 
land  of  Israel ;    and   I  will  call   for   a 


288 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


sword  against  him  throughout  all  my 
mountains,  saith  the  Lord  God  :  every 
man's  sword  shall  be  against  his  bro- 
ther. And  I  will  plead  against  him  with 
pestilence  and  with  blood  ;  and  I  will 
rain  upon  him,  and  upon  his  bands, 
and  upon  the  many  people  that  are  with 
him,  an  overflowing  rain,  and  great 
hailstones,  fire,  and  brimstone,"  (Ezek. 
xxxviii.  18.)  This  language  is  adopted 
in  the  Apocalypse,  when  the  overthrow 
of  the  confederacy  is  described  under 
the  vintage  vial,  as  we  have  fully  seen. 

Having  thus  identified  the  war  of 
Gog,  of  the  King  of  the  North,  of  the 
valley  of  Jehosaphat,  of  Zechariah's  con- 
gregation of  nations,  and  of  John's  field  of 
Armageddon,  we  are  entitled  to  use  any 
points  in  the  prophetic  history  of  any  one 
of  them,  in  illustrating  and  explaining 
any  other.  With  this  advantage,  let  us 
proceed  with  the  context.  "  He  shall 
enter  also  into  the  glorious  land,  and 
many  countries  shall  be  overthrown  ; 
but  these  shall  escape  out  of  his  hand, 
even  Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  chief 
of  the  children  of  Amnion.  He  shall 
stretch  forth  his  hand  also  upon  the 
countries;  and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall 
not  escape.  But  he  shall  have  power 
over  the  treasures  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  over  all  the  precious  things  of 
Ejjypt ;  and  the  Libyans  and  the  Ethio- 
pians shall  be  at  his  steps.  But  tidings 
out  of  the  east  and  out  of  the  north  shall 
trouble  him ;  and  therefore  he  shall  go 
forth  with  great  fury  to  destroy,  and 
utterly  to  make  away  many.  And  he 
shall  plant  the  tabernacles  of  his  palace 
between  the  seas  in  the  glorious  holy 
mountain  ;  yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end, 
and  none  shall  help  him." 

The  first  position  is,  that  the  king  of 
the  north,  or  Gog,  is  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic antichristian  power.  It  is  unde- 
niably a  confederation,  including  most 
of  the  European  nations.  Russia  is 
mentioned  by  name ;  "  Set  thy  face 
against  Gog,  the  chief  of  Rosh,  Me- 
shech,  and  Tubal."  The  word  trans- 
lated, prince,  as  many  critics,  with  the 
Septuagint,  have  shown,  ought  to  be 
taken  as  a  proper  name.  Rosh,  Mesach, 
and  Tubal  were  modified  in  progress  of 


ages,  into  Russia,  or  Russians ;  Moschi, 
or  Muscovites ;  and  Tobeli,  by  whom 
probably  Tobolsk  in  Asiatic  Russia  was 
settled.  Gomer  was  the  progenitor  of 
the  Cimbric  tribes ;  and  Togarmah  occu- 
pied a  station,  first  in  northern  Asia 
Minor,  and  thence  migrated  into  the 
north  quarters.  But  this  co-league  will 
embrace,  at  least  in  its  progress,  Cush 
and  Lybia.  Perhaps  France  by  that 
time  may  have  brought  all  northern 
Africa  into  a  state  of  colonial  dependence, 
and  so  may  furnish  from  her  Lybian 
subjects,  a  conscription  for  the  grand 
army. 

5.  The  king  of  the  south  is,  of  course, 
the  Protestant  confederation.  It  will  be 
recollected,  that  in  expounding  the  little 
booh,  we  stated  the  probability  and  the 
reasons  at  full  length,  that  England  is 
the  street  or  broad  way  where  the  wit- 
nesses being  slain,  will  lie  unburied  for 
three  and  a  half  years  ;  that  they  will 
then,  upon  the  near  approach  of  friends 
and  allies  from  all  parts  of  the  Protestant 
world,  and  particularly  from  America, 
come  forth  from  their  hiding-places,  re- 
organize, and  take  the  field ;  that  the 
antichristian  confederacy,  having  been 
foiled  in  their  assault  upon  the  United 
States,  will  retreat,  and  about  the  time 
of  their  arrival  in  Europe,  will  meet  the 
reorganized  Protestant  bands  in  Eng- 
land ;  that  they  will  find  the  freedom 
party  so  strong  as  to  be,  with  these 
allies  on  the  rear  of  the  retreating  fleet, 
too  overwhelming  for  them ;  that  they 
will  abandon  Britain,  which  will  fall  off 
from  Rome,  and  be  for  ever  Protestant : 
this  is  the  tenth  part  of  the  Roman  city 
which  is  to  fall  in  the  earthquake.  Now 
we  suppose  (and  we  beg  it  to  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  we  do  not  pretend  to  pro- 
phesy, but  from  known  fulfilled  pro- 
phecy, we  conjecture  what  the  meaning 
of  the  language  is,  which  is  yet  unful- 
filled) we  suppose  this  Protestant  com- 
bination, now  consisting  of  the  principal 
people  who  speak  the  English  language, 
together  with  a  large  number  spread 
over  all  the  other  nations,  but  too  few 
to  sustain  a  distinct  church  organization 
in  any,  during  these  times,  will  revolu- 
tionize England   and    all    her  colonies, 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


289 


and  reorganize  her  churches  on  Bible 
principles,  and  her  political  institutions 
on  the  representative  doctrine;  that  they 
will  strengthen  all  their  outposts  by  all 
possible  means;  they  will  take  a  very 
active  part  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews,  which,  as  Bishop  Horsely  on  Isa. 
xviii.  shows,  will  be  effected  by  a  great 
maritime  power;  they  will  also  have  an 
army  in  the  east  for  the  purpose  of  their 
defence  ;  this  army  is  the  king  of  the 
south.  He  will  fall  back  upon  Egypt, 
on  the  approach  of  the  vast  northern 
tornado,  and  probably  will  have  a  fleet 
in  the  Red  Sea,  to  which  they  will  be- 
take themselves,  and  thus  elude  the  king 
of  the  north.  By  this  time,  the  English 
will  probably  have  colonies  on  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  a  line  of  steamers  plying 
its  waters  ;  the  king  of  the  south  may 
ascend  this  stream,  or  return  by  the 
Elonitic  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  with  forces 
greatly  strengthened  by  detachments 
from  the  valley  of  the  Ganges,  and 
plan  a  junction  near  Jerusalem  with  re- 
inforcements by  sea  from  Europe  and 
America. 

Tidings  of  this  movement  from  the  east 
and  from  the  north  will  reach  the  King 
of  the  North,  whilst  in  Lybia.  He  will 
face  about  with  great  promptness,  and 
full  of  fury  will  rush  forward  to  prevent 
the  Protestant  forces  from  forming  a 
junction ;  but,  too  late  for  this,  will  pitch 
the  general's  tent  and  his  camp  in  the 
great  plain  of  Esdrseelon  :  "  between  the 
seas  in  the  glorious  holy  mountain ;  and 
there  he  shall  come  to  his  end  and  none 
shall  help  him."  It  is  almost  superfluous 
to  dwell  upon  this  language.  "  Between 
the  seas,"  and  "  at  the  mountain  of  the 
splendour  or  glory  of  holiness,"  surely 
points  out  that  portion  of  the  Holy  Land 
which  lies  between  the  Mediterranean 
and  Dead  Seas,  or  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  : 
and  as  the  great  plain  extends  from  this 
last  named  sea,  to  the  first,  there  appears 
no  room  for  hesitancy  between  it  and  the 
Dead  Sea.  The  locality  of  this  last  en- 
campment is,  undoubtedly,  the  same  so 
often  referred  to  in  the  scriptures,  and  in 
these  Lectures.  It  must  have  occurred 
to  every  reader,  that  little  is  said  of  the 
King  of  the  South  in  any  of  these  pro- 

37 


phecies.  Daniel  barely  mentions  him 
in  verse  40,  and  passes  directly  on  with- 
out farther  notice.  Ezekiel  leaves  him 
out  of  view  altogether,  except  incidental- 
ly, where  he  says,  "  I  will  call  for  a 
sword  against  him,"  and  in  speaking  of 
his  agency  in  burying  Gog.  He  does 
not  distinctly  affirm  that  he  shall  fight 
at  all.  Zechariah  infprms  us  that,  "  Ju- 
dah  also  shall  fight  at  Jerusalem,"  but 
throughout,  the  Lord  is  represented  as  a 
man  of  war  ;  Michael,  the  King  of  kings 
fights  for  the  destruction  of  his  foes. 
Therefore, 

3.  The  subversion  of  the  antichristian 
confederation  will  be  chiefly  miraculous. 
We  say  chiefly.  The  King  of  the  South 
and  the  restored  of  Israel,  will  consti- 
tute a  band  of  fighting  men  ;  but  small 
relatively,  and  characterized  by  a  firm 
dependence  upon  the  power  of  their  Al- 
mighty Redeemer.  Like  David  with  his 
smooth  stone,  confronting  the  giant  with 
all  his  warlike  accoutrements,  offensive 
and  defensive,  will  the  little  stone  oppose 
itself  to  the  colossal  image.  By  blood, 
indeed,  Gog  will  be  cut  off;  but  chiefly 
by  the  sword  of  his  allies,  and  by  pesti- 
lence and  famine.   The  design  of  this  is, 

4.  That  Israel  and  Judah,  God's  wit- 
nesses and  their  friends,  as  well  as  their 
foes,  may  see  and  know  that  this  is  Jeho- 
shaphat,  the  Lord's  judgment;  "and  I  will 
be  known  in  the  eyes  of  many  nations, 
and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord." 
"  And  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the 
heathen,  and  all  the  heathen  shall  see 
my  judgment  that  I  have  executed." 

Chap.  xii.  1 :  "  And  at  that  time  shall 
Michael  stand  up,  the  great  prince  which 
standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people  ; 
and  there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such 
as  never  was  since  there  was  a  nation, 
even  to  that  same  time  :  and  at  that  time 
thy  people  shall  be  delivered,  every  one 
that  shall  be  found  written  in  the  book." 

We  have  sufficiently  illustrated  the 
first  clause  of  this  verse.  The  second 
is  parallel  with  the  destruction  of  Gog, 
where  the  prophet  enters  much  more 
into  detail ;  and  gives  us  truly  an  ac- 
count of  most  terrible  havoc.  Seven 
years  shall  the  wood  of  the  weapons 
and  carriages  of  this  annihilated  army, 


290 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


suffice  the  neighbouring  inhabitants  for 
fuel ;  and  seven  months  shall  the  house 
of  Israel  be  in  burying  the  dead  car- 
casses. So  extensive  shall  be  the  slaugh- 
ter, that  dead  bodies  shall,  for  that  period, 
be  found  scattered  up  and  down  the  val- 
ley and  the  adjoining  hills.  The  same 
idea  of  the  extent  of  ruin  is  set  forth  by 
Ezekiel,  and  Isaiah,  and  John,  under  the 
figure  of  a  great  supper,  where  flesh  and 
blood  of  man  and  beast  shall  be  served 
up  to  all  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and  all  the 
wild  beasts  of  the  earth. 

The  last  clause  of  this  verse  may 
refer  only  to  the  deliverance  of  those 
who  were  quite  recently  captured  by 
Gog's  army,  as  mentioned  by  Zech.  xiv. 
2.  "  But  at  the  very  same  time,  thy  peo- 
ple shall  be  slipped  away,  every  one 
found  written  in  the  book."  The  lan- 
guage seems  to  imply  a  removal,  quietly 
effected,  without  hurry  and  confusion : 
and  that  it  shall  be  complete  as  to  the 
whole  body  of  them, — every  one  that  is 
registered  or  enrolled.  To  this  opinion 
we  incline,  rather  than  to  suppose  this 
marks  the  juncture  of  their  restoration 
to  their  own  land.  Because  this  restora- 
tion has  already  been  effected.  Still, 
both  may  be  true.  The  return  of  Israel 
will  assuredly  have  been  in  part  effected, 
before  this  period,  and  the  captured  por- 
tion of  the  restored  Israel,  may  thus  be 
covered  by  the  hand  of  Jehovah  in  this 
day  of  battle,  and  so  secured  from  dan- 
ger ;  and  afterwards  a  more  full  and 
perfect  restoration  of  all  Israel  be  effect- 
ed. But  this  point,  we  may  not  at  pre- 
sent press.  Nor  can  we  now  discuss  the 
question  raised  by  the  next  verse,  rela- 
tive to  a  pre-millennial  resurrection.  De- 
ferring this  to  a  subsequent  Lecture,  we 
conclude  with  a  brief  remark. 

This  last  battle  will  be  characterized 
by  great  ferocity.  It  will  be  the  closing 
and  agonizing  effort  of  despair  :  the  dying 
struggle  of  the  giant,  maddened  and  con- 
vulsed by  the  presentiment,  that  his  time 
is  short  and  his  destruction  certain.  He 
will,  therefore,  fight  with  the  ferocity 
which  aims  to  die  in  the  act  of  self- 
revenge. 

How  safe  the  church  of  God  is,  and 
how  secure  she  will  feel  as  this  season 


of  cutting  off  opens  up  and  progresses  ! 
There  will  be  such  intimations  of  the  Sa- 
viour's providential  presence  and  power, 
as  will  call  into  exercise  a  high  degree 
of  faith  ;  and  like  King  Jehoshaphat,  she 
will  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
the  Lord.  Particularly  will  this  be  the 
case  with  the  restored  Israel.  Fresh  in 
the  joys  of  recent  espousals,  -will  Judah 
be  animated  with  a  burning  zeal  and 
love  to  the  Lord,  and  Israel  will  do  va- 
liantly. 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 

THE    SECOND    ADVENT    OF    CHRIST,    AND 
ITS    OBJECT. 

"  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner 
as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven." — Acts, 
i.  11. 

"  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  him 
that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth  and 
the  heaven  fled  away ;  and  there  was  found  no 
place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small 
and  great,  stand  before  God;  and  the  books 
were  opened ;  and  another  book  was  opened, 
which  is  the  book  of  life :  and  the  dead  were 
judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written 
in  the  books,  according  to  their  works.  And 
the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it;  and 
death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them  :  and  they  were  judged  every 
man  according  to  their  works.  And  death  and 
hell  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is 
the  second  death.  And  whosoever  was  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life  was  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire." — Rev.  xx.  11-15. 

Nothing  is  too  absurd  for  human 
belief.  Every  person  who  reads  the 
gospel  history  at  once  perceives,  that 
there  was  a  child  born  at  Bethlehem, 
called  Jesus  Christ ;  that  he  lived  in 
humble  condition ;  that  about  his  thir- 
tieth year,  he  entered  upon  the  functions 
of  a  public  preacher  ;  that  in  a  little 
more  than  three  years  after  this  he  was 
arrested,  arraigned,  and  put  to  death  by 
crucifixion  ;  that  he  arose  from-the  dead 
and  manifested  himself  to  many  of  his 
followers,  and  finally  was  separated 
from  them,  and  ascended,  amid  clouds, 
beyond  their  anxious  gaze.  These  facts 
are  set  forth  so  plainly,  that,  to  deny 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 


291 


them,  would  seem  a  betrayment  of  gross 
unbelief  in  the  gospel  history,  or  of 
mental  aberration  ;  and  yet  there  have 
lived  many  people,  professing  profound 
respect  for  and  confidence  in  the  Scrip- 
tures,  who  nevertheless  maintained  that 
this  was  mere  appearance  and  not  at  all 
reality, — that  Jesus  had  no  true  and 
real  body,  but  only  a  body  of  air,  a 
phantom  ;  that  all  his  actions  were 
merely  apparent,  not  real,-— his  birth, 
life,  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension 
were  only  ideal  conceptions. 

It  were  surely  a  vain  employment  to 
enter  into  serious  debate  with  the  de- 
ranged intellects  of  such  men.  But  is 
it  less  idle  seriously  to  debate  the  ques- 
tion, whether  Christ  will  come  a  second 
time, — whether  he  will  descend  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel 
and  the  trump  of  God?  Should  a 
Christian  allow  himself  to-  discuss  the 
point,  whether  his  Master's  words,  oft 
repeated  and  varied,  so  as  to  express 
the  idea  in  different  forms,  are  true  or 
not?  We  shall  not  do  it.  We  shall 
rather  assume,  as  indubitably  true,  that 
the  Redeemer's  second  personal  advent 
will  be  literal  and  certain  as  his  first. 
We  shall  not  account  it  a  debatable 
question  at  all,  whether  this  same  Jesus 
shall  so  come  in  truth  and  reality  as  he 
went ;  whether  he  shall  descend  indeed  ; 
whether  "  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  re- 
vealed from  heaven,  with  his  mighty 
angels ;  in  flaming  fire,  when  he  shall 
come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to 
be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe ;" 
whether  "  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  before  him 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations."  These 
questions,  rather  this  question,  is  not 
debatable ;  excepl  with  him  who  denies 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  But  with 
those  who  admit  the  Scriptures  to  be 
the  word  of  God,  we  must  consider  this 
question  as  settled. 

Nevertheless,  whilst  we  believe  the 
human  nature  of  our  Lord  to  have  a 
local  abode,  and,  that  it  will  move  from 
one  portion  of  space  to  another,  when 
he  shall  descend  as  he  ascended,  yet  are 
there  many  subordinate  questions,  in 
reference  to  the  second  advent,  to  which 


our  attention  must  be  for  a  short  time 
given. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  distinction 
between  the  providential  and  personal 
advents.  By  the  former  are  meant 
simply  those  exercises  of  the  divine 
wisdom  and  power  which  affect  the 
church  and  its  members,  the  world  and 
the  dwellers  therein.  The  Saviour  is 
said  to  come  in  the  movements  of  his 
providence.  Thus  he  came  to  the 
churches  of  Ephesus  and  Pergamos, 
"  Repent— or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee, 
quickly,  and  will  remove  thy  candle, 
stick  out  of  his  place — and  will  fight 
against  thee  with  the  sword  of  my 
mouth."  (Rev.  ii.  5-16.)  His  visits  of 
mercy,  too,  are  spoken  of  as  a  coming. 
"  In  all  places  where  I  record  my  name, 
I  will  come  unto  thee  and  I  will  bless 
thee."  (Ex.  xx.  24.)  Parallel  to  this  is 
the  promise,  "  For  where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  (Matt,  xviii. 
20.)  In  this  sense  Jesus  comes  when- 
ever he  lifts  the  rod  of  his  anger  and 
visits  individuals  or  communities.  He 
comes  in  sickness  or  in  death  ;  in  showers 
of  blessings  upon  the  land,  and  of  hea- 
venly rain  and  refreshing  dew  upon  his 
spiritual  heritage  ;  he  comes  to  dispense 
his  blessings  in  peace  and  prosperity  on 
the  nations ;  he  comes  to  hold  the  cup 
of  his  indignation  to  the  blasphemer's 
lip,  and  to  smite  the  earth  with  a  curse. 

Now  to  distinguish  these  providential 
advents  from  his  personal  coming  is  no 
difficult  matter  theoretically,  and  when 
the  mind  conceives  of  the  two ;  but  cases 
there  are,  where  the  scriptural  mode  of 
expression  leaves  the  subject  dubious. 
There  is  positive  difficulty  in  determin- 
ing whether  the  personal  or  providential  ' 
advent  is  intended.  But  these  difficulties 
do  not  in  the  least  degree  shake  the 
mind's  confidence  in  the  truth  and  reality 
of  either  kind  of  advent ;  we  believe  in 
both,  whilst  we  are  uncertain  to  which 
of  them  this  or  that  particular  context 
may  refer.  A  similar  difficulty  precisely 
occurs  relative  to  the  first  and  the  second 
personal  advents  in  several  of  the  Old 
Testament  prophecies.  Two  objects  are 
seen  at  a  distance, — two  lights,  for  ex- 


292 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ample,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  and 
nearly  in  the  same  right  line ;  one  may 
be  twice  as  far  off  as  the  other,  and  yet 
the  beholder  be  at  a  loss  to  say  which  is 
the  nearer,  or  whether  they  are  both 
alike  distant.  What  naked  eye  can  mea- 
sure the  depth  of  space  between  itself 
and  two  stars,  respectively  to  itself  and 
to  each  other,  and  determine  which  of 
the  two  is  the  farther  off?  So  were 
scriptures  relating  to  the  first  and  the 
second  appearance  of  the  Star  of  Beth- 
lehem. The  bright  rays  of  pi'omise, 
prophetic  of  each,  mingled  as  they  pass- 
ed through  the  vast  tracts  of  time,  and 
fell  with  confused  but  delightful  radiance 
upon  the  gazing  eye  of  the  Hebrew's 
faith,  and  lit  up  his  soul  with  the  bright 
visions  of  hope  that  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness would  ere  long  arise  with  heal- 
ing in  his  wings.  To  him  the  personal 
advent  of  Messiah  was  the  all-absorbing 
conception  ;  but  to  him,  the  distinction, 
and  the  distance  of  his  first  and  his 
second  coining,  were  of  little  practical 
consequence.  For  a  thousand  years  his 
departed  spirit  has  basked  in  the  efful- 
gence of  that  sunshine,  a  few  rays  only 
of  which  reached  him  in  the  dim  dis- 
tance of  this  dark  world ;  and  how  ut- 
terly insignificant  and  trivial  must  seem 
the  errors  and  confusion  under  which 
his  mind  laboured  whilst  here !  So  un- 
important, in  truth,  therefore,  do  we  con- 
sider the  controversies  which  still  re- 
main, as  to  whether  certain  passages  of 
scripture  refer  to  the  first  or  to  the 
second  personal  advent,  or  to  providen- 
tial advents  only.  These  controversies 
caonot  reasonably  produce  a  doubt  as  to 
the  truth  of  his  providential  coming,  or 
of  his  second  personal  coming.  These 
remain  firm  and  indubitable,  whatever 
opinions  men  may  form  as  to  the  appli- 
cation of  particular  texts  to  either.  Of 
course  it  falls  not  within  our  prescribed 
limits  to  touch  these  portions  of  scripture 
in  detail.  It  may  be  proper  only  to  re- 
mark, that  each  must  be  determined  by 
the  general  drift  of  the  context,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  construction  ;  and 
common  sense  will  greatly  aid  the  in- 
terpreter. 

It  has  been  already  assumed,  but  is 


worthy  of  formal  statement,  that  there 
are  but  two  personal  advents  spoken  of 
in  the  scriptures.  The  first  was  when 
the  Saviour  came  burdened  with  the 
guilt  of  his  people,  bearing  our  sins,  the 
sins  of  the  world  which  he  redeemed. 
The  other  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  world. 
"  Unto  them  that  look  for  him  shall  he 
appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto 
salvation."  (Heb.  ix.  28.)  The  same  he 
promised  very  explicitly  in  his  sacra- 
mental address  at  the  last  passover,  and 
first  supper :  "  And  if  I  go  and  prepare 
a  place  for  you,  Iioill  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  myself."  (John  xiv.  3.) 

There  is  nothing  express  and  direct  in 
scripture  to  show  that  he  will  not  come 
a  third  or  fourth  time  personally.  It  is 
not  any  where  affirmed  that  he  will  not 
so  come.  But  the  passages  which  speak 
of  his  coming,  when  fairly  and  candidly 
examined,  do  result  in  the  conviction, 
that  there  is  but  one  personal  advent 
after  his  ascension  from  Mount  Olivet ; 
and  though  the  phrase  second  advent, 
or  second  coming,  is  not  strictly  scrip- 
tural, yet  all  expositors  acquiesce  in  the 
thing  expressed  by  it — the  Redeemer 
will  come. 

The  manner  of  his  coming  regards 
four  things.  His  actual  motion  from 
above,  or  a  real  descent,  which  has  been 
already  before  us.  The  personal  appear- 
ance and  accompaniments.  "  Behold 
he  cometh  with  clouds."  (Rev.  i.  7.) 
A  cloud  received  him,  and  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  will  the  Saviour  de- 
scend. He  cometh  "  in  flaming  fire," 
— and  it  is  a  "  fiery  indignation"  which 
he  will  come  to  pour  out  upon  the 
wicked.  "  But  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  which  are  now,  by  the  same  word, 
are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire," — 
"  the  heavens  being  on  fire,  shall  be  dis- 
solved, and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat."  (2  Pet.  iii.  7,  12.)  There 
will  be  such  a  display  of  flaming  gran- 
deur as  we  cannot  now  comprehend  ; 
"  who  shall  abide  the  day  of  his  coming, 
for  he  shall  be  as  a  refiner's  fire  ?"  This 
glory  mortal  eye  cannot  behold.  He 
will  come  without  sin.  He  had  borne 
this  away  for  ever  at  his  first  coming ; 
now  heisentirely  free  from  all  itseffects, — 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 


293 


poverty,  shame,  sorrow,  death,  all  are 
gone.  There  will  be  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet  and  the  voice  of  the  archangel  ; 
that  is,  Jesus  himself  will  utter  his  awful 
voice,  and  command  the  sleeping  dead 
into  his  glorious  presence. 

"When,  lo!  a  mighty  trump,  one  half  concealed 
In  clouds,  one  half  to  mortal  eye  revealed, 
Shall  pour  a  dreadful  note  :  the  piercing  call 
Shall  rattle  in  the  centre  of  the  ball ; 
Th'  extended  circuit  of  creation  shake, 
The  living  die  with  fear,  the  dead  awake." 

His  escort  will  be  innumerable  and 
inconceivably  glorious  ;  "  and  all  his 
angels  with  him."  "  Behold  he  cometh 
with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints."  A  vast 
concourse  of  unredeemed  angels  and  re- 
deemed souls  of  men,  will  triumph  in 
his  train. 

The  purpose  of  the  second  advent  is, 
to  "  take  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God, — to  be  glorified  in  his  saints, 
and  to  be  admired  in  all  them  that  be- 
lieve." (2  Thess.  i.  8-10.)  "  He  shall 
separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a 
shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the 
goats  :  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his 
right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left ; 
then  shall  the  King  say  to  them  on  his 
right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
then  shall  he  say  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels."     (Matt,  xxv.) 

It  will  be  difficult  to  induce  the  plain 
reader  to  believe,  that  between  the  two 
branches  of  this  sentence, — "  come,  ye 
blessed,"  and  "  depart,  ye  cursed,"  there 
will  actually  elapse  the  space  of  a  thou- 
sand years.  This  is  affirmed  by  the 
Millenarians.  They  contend  that  the 
dead  in  Christ  are  raised  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  millennium,  and  the  wicked 
at  the  end  of  it.  It  appears  to  us,  that 
there  is  no  good  reason  for  such  violence 
as  must,  on  that  hypothesis,  be  practised 
on  this  context.  We  have  here  an  ex- 
ceedingly simple  process  described  ;  and 
we  feel  confident  that  no  one  ever  ob- 
tained the  Millenarian  notion  from  and 
out  of  the  context.  On  the  contrary,  it 
describes  one  scene,  one  process  of  judg- 


ment, and  conducted  at  one  time.  The 
results  are  summed  up  in  a  single  brief 
and  very  plain  sentence.  "  And  these 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment ;  but  the  righteous  into  life  eter- 
nal." Would  any  rational  man  ever 
dream,  that  between  the  former  and  the 
latter  clauses  of  this  verse,  one  thousand 
years  must  intervene? 

The  same  remark  may  be  made  as  to 
verses  31,  32, — "  He  shall  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  his  glory :  and  before  him 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations  ;"  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked  are  there  and  then 
congregated  for  judgment,  at  the  time 
"  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in 
his  glory."  After  all  that  we  have  seen 
on  this,  we  cannot  believe  that  one  part 
of  these  "  all  nations,"  viz.  the  saints, 
have  been  before  him,  in  the  obvious 
sense  of  the  place,  for  a  thousand  years ; 
and  now,  at  the  end  of  it,  the  wicked 
are  also  brought  up. 

Other  passages  indeed,  perhaps  all 
that  treat  of  the  judgment,  seem  to 
represent  the  sentence  as  passed  upon 
the  two  classes  as  simultaneous  ;  "  for 
the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that 
are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth  ;  they  that  have 
done  good,  to  the  resurrection  of  life ; 
and  they  that  have  done  evil,  to  the  re- 
surrection of  damnation."  (John  v.  28, 
29.)  The  two  are  co-existent;  that  is, 
at  or  near  the  same  time  ;  it  is  one  judg- 
ment, and  not  two  long  and  tedious  pro- 
cesses. 

The  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field, 
and  the  draw-net  with  its  good  and  bad 
fishes,  is  a  further  exemplification  :  the 
severance  of  the  kinds,  the  casting  away 
of  the  one,  and  the  treasuring  up  of  the 
other,  are  simultaneous.  The  Literalists, 
with  all  their  talent  and  ingenuity,  and 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  they  display 
a  very  considerable  degree  of  both,  ap- 
pear to  us  to  fail  here.  Surely  between 
the  gathering  together  of  the  good,  and 
the  casting  away  of  the  bad,  the  Lord 
does  not  intend  us  to  understand  that 
therewillintervenethewholemillennium! 

It  should  be  remembered  that  much 
figure  lies  around  this  subject,  in  all 
probability.     With  the  Millenarians,  we 


294 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


will  admit,  that  we  are  liable  to  carry 
our  notions  of  human  judicial  forms  to 
the  divine  procedure,  perhaps  to  an  im- 
proper extent.  We  imagine  a  bench,  a 
bar,  witnesses,  and  subordinate  officers, 
and  seem  to  think  that  a  single  day  of 
twenty-four  hours,  will  wind  up  the 
grand  assize.  But  with  all  due  allow- 
ances for  our  imperfect  conception  of 
these  matters,  we  must  think  the  Lite- 
ralists  do  unwarrantably  depart  from 
the  literal  meaning,  and  indulge  in 
fancy.  Their  idea  of  the  judgment  is 
surely  a  vast  departure  from  the  literal 
meaning  ;  the  Anti-Millenarians,  or  ad- 
vocates of  the  post-millennial  advent, 
are  much  better  entitled  to  the  epithet  of 
Literalists  :  they  contend  for  a  literal 
judgment,  according  to  the  plain  force 
of  the  Scriptures,  whereas  the  others 
interpret  the  language  very  differently. 
If  we  understand  the  Millenarian  views, 
as  spread  out  in  the  Literalist,  one,  and 
it  is  the  chief,  argument  for  the  pre-mil- 
lennial  advent  of  Christ,  is  deduced  from 
that  class  of  texts  which  speak  of  the 
gospel  dispensation  as  characterized  by 
a  mixed  population  of  good  and  bad, 
tares  and  wheat,  sheep  and  goats,  wise 
and  foolish  ;  and  these  will  continue 
until  the  Son  of  man  comes, — until  the 
second  personal  advent  of  Christ ;  there- 
fore they  infer  that  the  millennium  can- 
not precede  this  advent ;  for  then  there 
would  be  found  no  such  mixture,  because 
in  the  millennium  all  will  be  holy. 

To  this  we  reply,  that  the  parable  of 
the  wheat  and  tares  is  expressly  given 
to  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  ;  which  is,  the  reign  of  Christ, 
as  we  have  long  since  shown,  and  which 
was  begun  before  Daniel's  vision,  and 
his  interpretation  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream.  The  little  stone  then  existed, 
and  was  acting  against  the  giant  image  ; 
it  exists  now,  and  will  exist,  even  on 
earth,  in  a  yet  far  purer  state ;  still  it 
is  one  and  the  self-same  kingdom,  under 
varied  circumstances.  Now,  the  Lite- 
ralists limit  it  to  the  millennial  state, 
and  suppose  that  there  is  not  now  any 
kingdom  of  God  at  all  ;  it  is  merely  an 
ens  polentialis,  but  not  an  ens  realis. 
It  can  and  will  be,  but  is  not.     Hence, 


they  continually  argue,  from  the  expres- 
sions which  regard  its  future  state,  that 
it  exists  not  now.  This  has  led  to  some 
very  highly  spiritual,  or  anti-literal  in- 
terpretations of  Scripture.  For  example  : 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you — "  the 
kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
you,  and  shall  be  given  unto  a  nation 
bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof."  (Matt. 
xxxi.  43.)  They  will  not  allow  us  to  say, 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  already 
come  in  fact,  but  only  in  possibility. 

It  was  proffered  to  the  Jews,  but  they 
rejected  it.  At  this  juncture,  we  affirm, 
it  was  given  to  the  Gentiles.  The  Lite- 
ralist, however,  replies,  that  it  was  post- 
poned for  about  two  thousand  years,  and 
now  exists  only  potentially.  But  when 
Paul  said  to  the  Pergamese  Jews,  upon 
their  obstinate  resistance,  "  It  was  neces- 
sary that  the  word  of  God  should  first 
have  been  spoken  to  you :  but  seeing  ye 
put  it  far  from  you,  and  judge  yourselves 
unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo,  we  turn 
to  the  Gentiles,"  (Acts,  xiii.  46,)  is  it  not 
manifest,  that  he  acted  out  the  declara- 
tion of  our  Lord  above  quoted  ?  He  turn- 
ed to  the  Gentiles,  and  offered  them  the 
kingdom,  and  they  received  it.  The  in- 
vitation to  the  supper  was  in  like  manner 
refused  :  the  Jews  rejected  the  kingdom. 
We  contend  that  the  servants,  the  gos- 
pel-preachers, went  out  immediately,  and 
as  immediately  compelled  them  to  come 
in,  and  the  wedding  was  furnished  with 
guests.  This  proves  that  there  was  not 
a  delay  of  eighteen  centuries  during 
which  the  table  stood  spread,  but  unsup- 
plied  with  guests.  Is  not  such  a  delay 
of  a  prepared  feast  unseemly  !  But  the 
Literalists  affirm  it  when  they  deny  that 
the  kingdom  was  actually  given  to  the 
Gentiles  :  they  did  not  receive  it, — its 
bestowment  "  was  postponed  until  the 
second  advent  at  the  beginning  of  the 
millennium."  Is  this  dealing  fairly  with 
the  scriptures  ?  Let  any  person,  not  pre- 
viously warped  to  a  theory,  duly  com- 
pare these  passages  together,  and  we  are 
persuaded,  he  will  conclude,  that  when 
the  kingdom,  that  is,  the  coming  under 
the  reigning  influence  of  Jesus,  was  re- 
jected by  the  Jews ;  when  the  persons 
first  bidden  to  the  supper  refused  it,  it 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 


295 


was  then  given  forthwith  to  the  Gentiles, 
the  persons  gathered  from  the  highways 
and  hedges.  But  the  Literalists  insist, 
that  this  gathered  church  is  the  elect 
church,  distinct  from,  and  not  the  real 
kingdom  of  God  :  this  present  state  is 
not  Messiah's  reign,  but  a  kind  of  inter- 
regnum between  the  dethronement  of  the 
prince  and  his  restoration, — that  eighteen 
centuries  have  already  elapsed  since  the 
kingdom  was  rejected  by  the  Jews,  but 
it  has  not  yet  been  given  to  the  nation 
bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof;  this  na- 
tion is  now  gathering  together,  but  not  yet 
gathered.  Christ  has  yet  no  kingdom. 

But  to  the  other  point  of  the  Literalist 
objection,  we  have  a  ready  answer, 
which,  however,  will  require  an  inspec- 
tion of  another  section  of  the  Apocalypse, 
(chap.  xx.  7-10.)  After  the  thousand 
years  shall  come  to  an  end,  Satan  will 
be  let  loose,  and  will  go  forth  upon  his 
old  errand  of  deception.  Gog  and  Ma- 
gog will  be  stirred  up.  This  is  a  dif- 
ferent event  entirely,  as  we  have  seen 
from  Ezekiel's  war ;  involving  the  na- 
tions from  the  same  quarters,  indeed,  but 
distant  from  them  in  time  by  the  whole 
millennium.  It  is,  moreover,  likely  that 
the  names  are  used  here  in  express  allu- 
sion to  the  similarity,  or  indeed  identity,  of 
the  parties  in  most  respects.  All  we  need 
say  on  the  subject  is,  that  another  grand 
apostacy  will  take  place  after  the  termi- 
nation of  millennial  blessedness.  There 
is  no  way  to  avoid  this  construction  of 
the  context.  It  cannot  be  explained  away : 
a  terrible,  rapid,  and  very  great  apostacy 
will  succeed  the  millennium,  and  there 
will  be  a  fearful  onset  of  the  apostate  na- 
tions, to  crush  the  church  of  God. 

Now,  we  contend,  that  just  in  the  cri- 
sis of  this  revolt  and  war,  the  second  ad- 
vent will  occur.  Is  there  any  difficulty 
in  finding  tares  among  the  wheat?  The 
Son  of  man  has  for  a  thousand  years 
been  cultivating  his  field  with  good  seed; 
the  tares  are  all  removed,  and  the  fruits 
of  righteousness  have  been  yielded  very 
abundantly ;  but  now,  at  the  close  of 
this  long  and  successful  culture,  the  ene- 
my hath  stolen  forth  in  the  dark  and 
sowed  his  tares,  and  hence  the  second 
war  of  Gog.     Let  it  not  then  be  asked, 


where  are  the  wicked  to  come  from, 
whom  the  Son  of  man  will  find  at  his 
second  advent?  This  objection  is  fore- 
stalled. It  is  more.  We  turn  this  sword 
back  upon  our  pursuers.  On  their  theory, 
that  Christ  shall  reign  personally  on 
earth  during  the  thousand  years,  in  what 
way  do  they  account  for  this  second  war 
of  Gog  ?  Where  now  is  the  king  ?  Could 
not  his  personal  presence  overcome  the 
adversary  ?  We  submit  it,  therefore,  to 
the  judgment  of  the  student  of  prophecy, 
whether  this  objection  does  not  come 
with  tenfold  more  force  against  the  Mil- 
lenarian;  whether  our  answer  is  not  con- 
clusive ? 

Nor  will  the  reply  suffice,  that  the  Gog 
and  Magog  of  Revelation,  "  the  number 
of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,"  are 
the  wicked  dead  raised  to  life  again. 

Because,  first,  the  text  says  that  they 
are  "  the  nations  which  are  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth,"  whom  Satan  goes 
out  to  deceive.  This  cannot  be  applied 
to  those  who  have  been  dead  as  to  the 
body  for  a  thousand  years  and  under 
the  tormenting  power  of  Satan. 

Second.  These  could  not  be  sub- 
jects of  their  master's  deception.  The 
very  idea  of  Satan's  deceiving  them,  im- 
plies an  apostacy  from  the  truth,  a  turn- 
ing away  from  the  friendship  of  Christ 
and  his  church  to  the  enemy. 

Third.  They  go  up  and  compass  the 
camp  of  the  saints.  This  is  evidently  a 
movement  voluntary  and  aggressive,  led 
on  by  Satan;  but  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked  dead  is  not  by  Satan's  power, 
but  by  Christ's ;  it  is  not  voluntary  on 
their  part,  but  is  constrained ;  they  are 
dragged  forth  by  the  omnipotence  of  their 
Judge. 

Fourth.  They  assault  the  camp  of  the 
saints;  but  the  wicked  dead  will  be  ar- 
raigned before  their  Judge  and  the  saints 
as  assessors,  and  condemned  ;  a  process 
very  unlike  that  here  described. 

Fifth.  But  farther  still  the  judgment 
and  the  resurrection  come  after  this  "war 
of  Gog.  There  is  first  a  fire  from  God, 
which  devours  this  vast  army  ;  then  the 
throne  of  judgment  is  set,  and  the  dead 
are  raised,  arraigned,  condemned,  and 
executed. 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


It  may  be  contended,  in  opposition  to 
this  last  objection,  that  this  white  throne, 
and  the  dead,  small  and  great,  standing 
before  it,  are  not  posterior  in  order  of 
time  to  the  war  and  destruction  of  Gog, 
but  only  in  the  order  of  the  text.  And 
such  cases,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
do  often  occur;  but  this  is  not  one  of 
them.  Gog's  army  are  judged,  but  it  is 
not  described  by  any  terms  that  justify 
the  supposition  of  its  including  any  but 
the  deceived  nations,  who,  after  the  mil- 
lennium, assault  the  camp  of  the  saints  : 
they  perish  in  war,  and,  of  course,  un- 
der a  judgment ;  but  it  is  partial  and 
not  general, — it  includes  men  of  war,  not 
small  and  great.  Fire  came  down  and 
devoured  them  ;  and  Satan  that  deceived 
them  is  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire ;  but 
these  are  not  so  cast  in, — they  are  simply 
destroyed  on  the  field  of  battle:  whereas 
the  result  of  the  judgment  which  follows 
is  "  the  second  death."  We  therefore 
find  no  difficulty  in  explaining,  on  our 
supposition,  the  fact,  that  when  Jesus 
comes  after  the  millennium  he  finds  tares 
as  well  as  wheat  in  the  field.  So  far 
from  this  creating  a  difficulty,  it  is  a 
part  of  our  scheme.  At  the  end  of  the 
world,  the  Son  of  man  will  come  per- 
sonally and  destroy  the  last  grand  con- 
federacy, gather  up  the  tares,  bind  them 
in  bundles,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire 
of  a  temporal  destruction  ;  raise  all  the 
dead,  justify  the  righteous,  and  cast  all 
these  wicked  into  the  furnace  of  his 
eternal  wrath. 

There  is  considerable  stress  laid  by 
the  Millenarian  writers  upon  the  fact, 
that  the  second  personal  advent  of  Christ 
was  very  generally  expected  in  the  pri- 
mitive ages  of  Christianity  :  and  indeed 
they  builded  not  a  little  upon  the  preva- 
lence of  this  expectation  down  to  the 
eighteenth  century.  Of  course,  these 
are  not  adduced  as  evidence  direct  of 
the  correctness  of  the  opinion.  Still 
they  have  no  small  influence  upon  many 
persons  ;  and  therefore,  we  feel  disposed 
to  make  a  remark  or  two  on  the  subject. 

The  opinions  of  the  early  Chrstians 
on  doctrinal  subjects  and  the  meaning 
of  the  language  of  scripture  ought  to 
have  no  great  weight  with  us ;  and  par- 


ticularly in  regard  to  prophecy.  In 
our  view,  their  opinions  have  swayed 
later  times  most  unreasonably.  Primitive 
Christianity  in  the  first  and  second  cen- 
turies was  like  primitive  Christianity  in 
the  nineteenth.  At  the  present  time,  if 
we  wished  a  sample  of  simple,  childlike 
confidence  in  God,  of  unaffected  purity 
of  character,  we  would  go  to  some  pros- 
perous missionary  station,  and  would 
find  the  Hawaiian  believers  to  excel 
most  American  Christians  in  these  re- 
spects ;  but  we  would  not  expect  to  find 
them  deeply  versed  in  Christian  doc- 
trine ;  and  would  not,  by  any  means, 
go  to  them,  nor  even  to  their  religious 
teachers,  though  educated  in  Christian 
countries,  to  have  difficult  questions  of 
interpretation  solved.  They,  like  the 
primitive  Christians,  have  had  means  of 
instruction  much  inferior  to  ours. 

Every  age  is  degenerate  in  that  age  ; 
the  former  times  were  better  than  ours : 
nevertheless  the  degenerate  nineteenth 
century  possesses  a  great  deal  more 
knowledge  of  scripture  doctrine  than  the 
first  or  second,  the  third  or  the  fourth ; 
we  need  not  go  to  these  for  light.  As- 
suredly we  should  put  more  confidence 
in  the  critical  acumen  of  a  pious  scholar 
now,  than  we  should  in  a  pious  scholar 
of  the  early  ages.  That  an  opinion,  as 
to  the  meaning  of  scripture,  was  held  in 
the  second  century,  even  by  a  devout 
and  learned  man,  is  not  as  good  a  rea- 
son to  confide  in  it,  as  that  it  is  at  pre- 
sent held  by  one  who  is  pious  and 
learned. 

But  again,  there  is  very  special  rea- 
son, why  the  opinions  of  the  early  ages, 
concerning  the  second  advent,  should  • 
have  little,  if  any  influence  with  us  at 
present ;  it  is  because,  they  xoere  grossly 
erroneous.  It  is  not  denied,  but  much 
insisted  on  by  Literalists,  that  the  early 
Christians  expected  Christ  to  come  in 
person  very  soon,  and  in  not  a  few  in- 
stances, this  expectation  cencentrated 
upon  particular  times,  and  produced  very 
great  excitement.  Deluded  people  urged 
themselves  on  to  crowns  of  martyrdom, 
in  the  distinct  and  expressed  hope  of 
very  shortly  rising  and  reigning  with 
Christ.     That  many  sinned  under  this 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 


297 


delusion,  by  exposing  themselves  unne- 
cessarily, and  rushing  upon  death  un- 
called for,  is  not  to  be  denied ;  and  has 
been  often  deplored.  But  God's  provi- 
dence has  a  thousand  times  written 
delusion  and  folly  upon  this  course  of 
action.  It  is  as  clearly  undeniable,  that 
they  misunderstood  the  Bible  language 
on  this  subject,  as  it  is  that  Mr.  Miller 
has  been  labouring  under  the  same  de- 
lusion. Now,  are  these  undeniable 
errors  proof  that  the  same  opinions  are 
.  true  at  present  ?  The  primitive  Chris- 
tians were  pre-advent-millenarians,  and 
were  grossly  misled  ;  does  this  prove 
the  correctness  of  their  interpretations  of 
these  scriptures  ?  Mr.  Miller  is  a  pre- 
millenarian-advent  advocate,  and  has 
deluded  himself  and  thousands  of  others; 
does  this  prove  his  opinion  correct  ? 
This  is  one  of  the  most  singular  argu- 
ments we  have  met  with  ;  and  yet  we 
do  meet  with  it  continually  in  the  wri- 
tings of  very  learned  and  laborious 
divines. 

This  misapprehension  of  scripture  ap- 
peared in  St.  Paul's  day,  and  he  rebuked 
it :  "  be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be 
troubled,  neither  by  spirit  nor  by  word, 
as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  Christ  is 
at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by 
any  means;  for  that  day  shall  not  come, 
except  there  come  a  falling  away  first, 
and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son 
of  perdition."  (2  Thess.  ii.  1-12.)  He 
proceeds  to  describe  Roman  Catholic 
Antichrist  with  a  graphic  pen  ;  and  had 
the  primitive  Christians  understood  these 
matters  as  well  as  the  church  now  does, 
they  would  not  have  fallen  into  the  very 
mistakes  against  which  Paul  here  warns 
them.  Shall  their  errors  be  an  argu- 
ment for  their  own  repetition?  Because 
they  went  astray  in  the  very  face  of 
the  apostle,  must  we  believe  the  same 
opinions? 

The  other  remark  refers  to  the  notions 
of  later  ages.  More  weight  is  attached  to 
these  than  is  just.  Millenarians  claim 
all  authorities  down  to  the  eighteenth 
century.  That  Christ  should  come  a 
second  time  was  generally  believed.  But 
that  he  should  come  personally  prior  to 
the  millennium,  has  been  much  oftener 

33 


imputed  to  authors  than  was  justifiable. 
We  cannot  enter  upon  this  question  ; 
but  from  the  frequent  quotations  in  the 
Literalists  to  prove  this  position,  which 
nevertheless  do  not  prove  it,  we  should 
expect  a  scholar  who  should  undertake 
the  investigation,  to  ascertain  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  pre-millennial-advent,  has 
been  often  found  by  its  advocates  where 
it  never  existed.  For  example,  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  has 
been  alleged  in  favour  of  Millenarianism ; 
but  an  examination  of  its  contents  will 
not,  we  are  persuaded,  sustain  the  alle- 
gation. But  he  who  seeks  for  ghosts, 
can  find  them  almost  any  where  after 
nightfall.  Let  us  curb  imagination  and 
spur  up  judgment. 

Again :  Literalists  allege  that  their 
views  of  the  second  advent,  and  the 
mode  of  its  occurrence,  operates  a  power- 
ful influence  for  good  upon  the  minds  of 
men,  by  keeping  up  constant  vigilance: 
that  this  alone  secures  full  obedience  to 
the  important  command,  "  Watch  there- 
fore, for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor 
the  hour,  wherein  the  Son  of  man  Com- 
eth ;"  and  it  is  argued  that  the  post-mil- 
lennium advent  views,  lull  to  sleep,  and 
retain  in  inaction. 

So  far  as  this  is  used  as  an  argument, 
it  contains  a  petitio  principii :  it  as- 
sumes the  very  matter  in  dispute.  For 
nothing  but  truth  can  produce  a  good 
influence,  and  excite  the  Christian  grace 
of  watchfulness.  The  entertainment  of 
a  false  expectation  cannot  call  out  a 
holy  vigilance;  it  may  excite  to  foolish 
means  of  escape,  and  foolish  prepara- 
tions ;  ships  may  be  chartered  to  sail 
upon  the  ocean  when  the  land  shall  be 
on  fire,  and  robes  be  in  readiness,  in 
which  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  ;  but 
it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  these 
vain  preparations  draw  sinners  to  the 
only  means  of  extinguishing  the  flames 
of  God's  vengeance,  and  of  arraying 
themselves  in  the  wedding  garment  of 
the  Saviour's  righteousness.  Great  num- 
bers, no  doubt,  may  be  deluded  into  the 
church  in  this  way ;  but  they  would  be 
in  less  danger  out  of  it,  and  the  church 
would  be  purer  and  more  efficient,  lack- 
ing them.     Before  it  can  be  logically 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


inferred,  that  this  kind  of  watchfulness 
is  a  grace  and  a  benefit,  it  must  be 
proved  that  it  springs  from  right  princi- 
ple ;  and  this  cannot  be  inferred  from 
the  effects,  unless  they  are  uniformly 
good.  On  the  contrary,  we  allege  that 
these  excitements  are  delusive  ;  and  the 
history  .of  these  opinions  shows  that  they 
result  in  spiritual  declension.  After  the 
heat  of  a  millenarian  fever  passes  off", 
a  deadly  coldness  follows ;  and  at  this 
present  hour  the  collapse  is  in  progress, 
necessarily  arising  from  the  advent  pro- 
mised a  month  or  two  ago. 

But  farther :  we  are  constrained  to 
believe,  that  this  view  diverts  attention 
from  that  advent  which  Jesus  mainly 
intended  in  his  command  to  watch,  be- 
cause of  the  uncertainty  of  the  time  of  his 
coming  ;  that  is,  his  providential  advent 
in,  calls  to  special  trials  and  particularly 
in  death.  Men  are  led  to  suppose  that 
the  literal  and  physical  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  spiritual  advent;  where- 
as the  reverse  is  true.  The  former  de- 
rives all  its  importance  from  the  latter. 
Christ  will  come  to  our  souls  at  death, 
and  for  this  coming  we  must  be  ever 
watching  and  ever  ready ;  and  this  is 
the  principal  thing.  If  we  have  on  the 
robes  of  his  righteousness ;  if  we  are 
washed  in  his  blood  ;  if  we  are  born  of 
and  living  in  his  Spirit,  then  are  we 
watching  in  the  principal  sense,  for  his 
coming  in  death :  and  these  relations 
only  make  his  personal,  physical  advent 
of  any  consequence. 

The  great  error  and  delusion  of  the 
earlier  Millenarians  lay  in  magnifying 
the  literal  above  the  spiritual  advent, 
and  thus,  fixing  their  eye  on  the  wrong 
object,  they  saw  not  at  all  the  plain 
Scriptures,  which  would  have  told  them 
that  the  literal  advent  could  not  take 
place  for  many  centuries,  viz.,  until 
after  the  reign  of  Antichrist.  The  daily 
and  hourly  expectation  of  the  personal 
coming  had  its  foundation  in  falsehood. 
There  was  no  ground  in  Scripture  for 
it.  On  the  contrary,  Paul's  declaration, 
above  quoted,  and  many  other  Scrip- 
tures, chiefly  the  whole  grand  system 
of  chronological  prophecy,  made  it  clear 
to  all  but  those  blinded  by  Millenarian. 


ism,  that  it  could  not  be  for  many  hun- 
dred years ;  the  entertainment  of  this 
expectation  was,  therefore,  a  delusion, 
in  direct  opposition  to  express  and  spe- 
cific Scripture  testimony.  It  must,  there- 
fore, have  led  to  mischief  continually. 
And  this  a  priori  inference  is  as  true  a 
posteriori.  History  has  set  her  seal  to 
it.  The  wildfire  of  Millenarianism  has 
always  burnt  out  the  spirit  of  piety  in 
the  church,  and  left  a  sad  ruin  to  be 
rebuilt  by  the  sober  expectants  of  a  spi- 
ritual millennium,  and  the  thousand  in- 
tervening spiritual  advents  of  Christ  to 
his  afflicted  church.  We  go  farther 
than  a  simple  repelling  of  the  argument 
drawn  from  the  absence  of  a  Millena- 
rian stimulus  to  watchfulness.  They 
say  that  Christ  might  have  come,  and 
may  now  personally  come  at  any  mo- 
ment, and  this  belief  produces  vigilance. 
We  say,  the  second  personal  advent  could 
not  occur  until  after  the  revelation  of 
Antichrist,  and  therefore  the  expectation 
of  it  before  was  deceitful ;  it  could  not 
be  founded  on  truth,  and  must  be  pro- 
ductive of  evil  only. 

Rev.  xx.  11—15  :  "  And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it, 
from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven 
fled  away;  and  there  was  found  no  place 
for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small 
and  great,  stand  before  God  :  and  the 
books  were  opened  ;  and  another  book 
was  opened,  which  is  tlie  book  of  life  ; 
and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those 
j  things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
i  according  to  their  works.  And  the  sea 
gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and 
death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead 
which  were  in  them :  and  they  were 
judged  every  man  according  to  their 
works.  And  death  and  hell  were  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the  second 
death.  And  whosoever  was  not  found 
written  in  the  book  of  life  was  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire." 

This  is  a  description  of  the  general 
judgment :  a  few  remarks  must  com- 
prehend all  we  can  say  upon  the  subject. 

The  Redeemer  is  this  judge;  to  him 
hath  the  Father  committed  all  judgment, 
because  he  is  the  Son  of  man. 

It  is  difficult,  and  perhaps  not  prudent, 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 


299 


to  say  how  much  of  figure  may  be  in 
these  words.  Will  there  be  a  great 
white  throne  literally,  or  is  this  merely 
in  reference  to  human  procedure?  The 
Judge  is  a  real  person,  in  full  possession 
of  human  nature;  why  not  allow  the 
throne  to  be  as  real  as  the  person  who 
occupies  it  ? 

From  the  splendours  of  this  throne 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  fled  away. 
Is  this  literal,  or  does  it  mean  the  sym- 
bolical heaven  or  ecclesiastical  system, 
and  the  civil  government  ?  In  this  sense, 
it  is  doubtless  true.  The  government  of 
man  is  now  at  an  end.  But  how  far  it 
may  be  true  literally,  we  cannot  say. 
"  No  place  is  found  for  them,"  and 
where  then  will  the  judgment  be  held, 
if  neither  in  heaven  nor  on  earth?  Here, 
our  wisdom  is  to  stand  still  ;  what  this 
means  will  be  known  then  and  probably 
very  imperfectly  known  before. 

After  a  tribunal  is  created,  and  all 
the  awful  solemnities  are  adjusted,  the 
next  step  is  to  bring  forward  the  persons 
to  be  judged.  The  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God.  This,  in  verse 
12,  is  undoubtedly  a  prolepsis,  an  as- 
sumption of  the  fact  stated  in  verse  13, 
where  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  is  dis- 
tinctly affirmed.  The  sea  gave  up  her 
dead.  Death  is  personified ;  he  is  the 
king  of  terrors  ;  and  hell,  Hades,  is  the 
invisible  world,  the  kingdom  of  this  king. 
Both  king  and  kingdom  deliver  up  all 
under  their  control.  If  the  small  and 
great  of  the  saints  had  been  raised  more 
than  a  thousand  years  before,  where  the 
propriety  of  this  language,  which  cer- 
tainly seems  to  imply  all  that  ever  were 
in  the  state  of  the  dead. 

The  good  and  bad  appear  to  be  in- 
volved in  this  judgment.  "  The  books 
were  opened  ;"  the  book  of  the  law,  and 
the  book  of  the  record  of  facts,  and  an- 
other book  which  is  the  book  of  life  : 
and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those 
things  which  were  written  in  the  books 
according  to  their  works.  The  judg- 
ment involves  both  classes,  exactly  ac- 
cording to  the  Saviour's  representation 
in  Matt,  xxv  :  if  so,  what  becomes  of 
the  Millenarian  idea,  that  the  saints 
had  all  been  raised  and  judged  a  thou- 


sand years  before?  We  think  the  plain 
reader  would  conclude  from  this  lan- 
guage, that  all  mankind,  small  and 
great,  good  and  bad,  were,  on  this  occa- 
sion, raised  from  their  long  slumbers, 
cited  before  the  same  solemn  tribunal, 
and  judged  according  to  their  actual 
character. 

The  glorious  fact, — let  it  ever  be  re- 
membered, that  the  Lord  our  Redeemer 
will  come,  and  will  not  tarry.  At  the 
very  moment  fixed  upon  in  the  councils 
of  eternity,  before  the  world  was,  he 
will  descend  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 
of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God. 
Arrayed  in  the  fiery  habiliments  of  eter- 
nal judgment,  he  will  descend,  and  all 
his  saints  with  him.  Surrounded  with 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  mightv 
angels,  he  will  come  to  be  glorified  in 
his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  the\n 
that  believe.  How  difficult  it  is  for  us' 
to  realize  the  fact !  This  same  Jesus, 
whom  ye  have  seen  buffeted,  and 
scourged,  and  crowned  with  thorns,  and 
nailed  on  the  accursed  tree, — this  same 
star  that  set  in  blood  on  Calvary,  shall 
arise, 

"  A  sun,  O  how  unlike 
The  babe  at  Bethlehem !    How  unlike  the  man 
That  groaned  on  Calvary  !     Yet  he  it  is ; 
That  man  of  sorrows  !  Oh  how  changed  !  What 

pomp  ! 
In  grandeur  terrible  all  heaven  descends !" 

"  The  day  is  broke,  which  never  more  shall 

close ; 
Above,  around,  beneath,  amazement  all ! 
Terror  and  glory,  joined  in  their  extremes — 
Our  God  in  grandeur  and  our  world  on  fire !" 

We  shall  each  one  be  present  on  that 
day,  at  that  solemn  scene.  Whatever 
diversities  of  opinion  may  exist  on  other 
points,  there  is  perfect  unanimity  among 
all  readers  of  the  Bible,  in  this.  We 
shall  be  there  in  our  own  proper  per- 
sons ;  these  spirits  and  these  bodies  will 
be  there  ;  these  eyes  shall  see  that  grand 
spectacle, — these  ears  shall  hear  that 
thunder-toned  trumpet. 

Our  respective  relative  position  then 
and  there  will  be  fixed  and  determined  long 
before  that,  by  our  actual  character  at 
the  hour  of  death.  With  the  trooping 
trains  that  descend  in  glory  effulgent,  we 


300 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


will  come ;  or  from  beneath  with  the  le- 
gions of  woe,  we  shall  be  dragged  forth 
to  meet  our  Judge.  Awful  thought !  A 
few  brief  years, — it  may  be  months  or 
days, — will  decide  our  doom  for  ever! 
How  important  the  improvement  of  pre- 
sent gospel  privileges  !  "  Now  is  the 
accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salva- 
tion." "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life ;  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but 
the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

How,  in  view  of  these  fearful  and  un- 
deniable realities,  dwindles  the  question, 
whether  our  Lord's  personal  advent  will 
precede  or  succeed  the  period  of  millen- 
nial blessedness  !  Of  what  great  conse- 
quence can  it  be  to  the  saved,  whether 
the  soul  shall  reign  with  Christ  on  earth 
or  abide  with  him  in  heaven  during  that 
period  ?  If  our  calling  and  election  are 
made  sure  by  true  faith  and  real  repent- 
ance, however  this  question  may  issue, 
unspeakable,  full,  and  perfectly  unal- 
loyed bliss  is  ours,  for  ever  and  for  ever- 
more. 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 

THE  IMPRISONMENT  OF  SATAN— THE 
FIRST  RESURRECTION. 

Rev.  xx.  1-6 ;  Dan.  xii.  2. 

"  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from 
heaven,  having  the  key  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand. 
And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old 
serpent,  which  is  the  devil,  and  Satan, 
and  bound  him  a  thousand  years,  and 
cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him, 
that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no 
more,  till  the  thousand  years  shall  be 
fulfilled  :  and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed 
a  little  season.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and 
they  sat  upon  them,  and  judgment  was 
given  unto  them  :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of 
them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness 
of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and 
which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  nei- 


ther his  image,  neither  had  received  his 
mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their 
hands ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.  But  the  rest 
of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until  the 
thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is 
the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy 
is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrec- 
tion :  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no 
power  ;  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God, 
and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  him 
a  thousand  years." 

Ever  since  the  introduction  of  sin  into 
our  world,  the  maxim  "  might  gives 
right"  has  been  practically  adopted.  The 
stronger  man  has  served  himself  of  the 
weaker.  The  more  powerful  tribe  or 
nation  has  disregarded  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  more  feeble,  and  borne 
upon  them  with  the  hand  of  oppression. 
To  such  a  degree  has  this  been  the  case, 
that  many  contend  that  man's  natural 
state  is  one  of  war.  Assuming  this  as 
true,  it  would  indeed  follow,  that  the  pre- 
ponderance of  physical  force  gives  the 
right  of  dominion.  The  vanquished  is 
first  prisoner  and  then  slave  to  the  vic- 
tor. From  this  bitter  root  has  sprung 
the  whole  deadly  upas  of  oppressive 
slavery.  Traffic  in  human  flesh  results 
from  the  admission,  that  strength  is  the 
measure  of  right.  This,  of  course,  must 
be  admitted  practicalhr,  so  soon  as  mo- 
ral power  ceases  to  be  the  ruling  princi- 
ple. Man  is  social,  and  must  be  go- 
verned, and  in  his  government,  either 
the  moral  or  the  physical  element  of  his 
nature  must  take  the  lead;  if  the  former, 
he  is  free ;  if  the  latter,  he  is  a  slave. 
Therefore,  the  latter  has  prevailed  al- 
most universally;  and  man  has  accounted 
his  inferior  in  this  sense  as  under  his 
control.  Captives  in  war,  until  Chris- 
tianity corrects  the  evil,  have  always 
been  considered  slaves,  and  generally 
been  treated  as  articles  of  traffic.  Pri- 
soners have  been  bound,  especially  pri- 
soners of  distinction,  and  led  away  in 
chains,  to  grace  the  triumphs  of  their 
captors. 

To  these  customs  there  is  a  slight  al- 
lusion in  the  context  before  us.  The 
rebel  hosts  have  been  subdued.  That 
species  of  power  to  which  they  betook 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


301 


themselves  in  their  war  upon  the  true 
church,  her  Almighty  King  has  exerted 
for  their  overthrow.  We  have  seen  the 
visible  agents  and  leaders  in  this  war 
vanquished  and  seized,  and  "  cast  alive 
into  the  lake  that  burns  with  fire  and 
brimstone."  But  there  is  also  an  invi- 
sible agency.  The  true  originator  of 
the  war  and  all  its  devastations  is  not  yet 
reached.  This  agent,  too,  must  he 
brought  into  subjection,  and  placed  in 
that  position  of  degradation  and  suffering 
to  which  his  folly  and  crime  entitle  him. 
For  the  execution  of  this  work,  an  angel 
is  seen  to  come  down  from  heaven,  with 
the  key  of  the  abyss,  and  a  great  chain 
in  his  hand. 

This  angel  symbolizes  the  ministers 
of  the  gospel, — that  vast  body  of  holy 
men  whom  God  will  raise  up,  whom  he 
is  now  raising  up  and  imbuing  with  the 
heroic  spirit  of  the  ancient  martyrs,  to 
bear  the  glad  tidings  to  all  the  earth. 
After  the  restoration  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  multitudes  of  them  will  become 
heralds  of  mercy,  and  preach  with  all 
the  zeal  and  energy  of  the  primitive 
martyr-preachers,  Stephen,  and  Paul, 
and  Peter.  Of  the  Gentiles,  much 
greater  numbers  will  devote  themselves 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  with  a 
measure  of  the  spirit  of  missions,  of 
which  the  church  now  knows  nothing, 
will  unite  with  the  revived  sons  of  Abra- 
ham in  spreading  the  savour  of  Mes- 
siah's name  over  all  the  earth.  This 
great  body  of  evangelical  teachers,  full 
of  zeal  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  will,  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord  their  God, 
seize  Satan,  bind  him  in  chains,  and 
thrust  him  down  into  the  abyss, — the 
place  of  his  torment,  and  fasten  him 
there.  In  other  words,  the  power  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  accompanying  the  word 
preached,  will  expel  the  foul  spirit  from 
the  hearts  of  men  and  from  the  govern- 
ments of  this  world,  and  drive  him  out 
from  the  air,  where  he  now  dwells ;  and 
force  him  into  his  own  place  of  torment; 
so  that  he  shall  no  more  tyrannize  over 
the  nations,  the  souls  and  the  bodies  of 
men,  for  the  thousand  years. 

Such  appears  to  us,  to  be  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  in  these  verses.     It  differs,  it 


will  be  perceived,  from  the  commentators 
generally  ;  and  for  thus  presuming,  we 
must  render  our  reasons. 

As  to  those  who  represent  this  angel 
as  Constantine  the  Great,  and  Satan  as 
Paganism,  it  is  surely  not,  at  this  age  of 
the  world,  necessary  to  say  a  word,  by 
way  of  refutation. 

The  ordinary  explanation  is,  that  this 
angel  is  Christ  our  Redeemer.  The 
Literalists,  or  pre-millennial-advent  ad- 
vocates, allege  that  he  will  come  per- 
sonally, before  the  thousand  years,  and 
remain  on  earth  all  or  chief  part  of  that 
time  ;  that  at  the  commencement  of  the 
period  he  will  bind  Satan,  not  in  a  strict 
and  literal  sense  with  a  chain,  as  we  un- 
derstand them  ;  but  by  his  force  and 
power,  he  will  raise  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  martyrs,  and  indeed  all  the  saints, 
and  they  with  him  shall  live  on  the  earth, 
and  be  his  ministers  of  state  and  officers 
in  the  government  of  the  world. 

There  are  then  three  opinions  before 
us.  The  one  first  stated,  that  the  angel 
is  a  figure  of  the  gospel  ministry  in  their 
revived  state ;  that  the  angel  is  Christ 
himself,  but  not  precisely  as  the  Literal- 
ists' understanding;  and  that  it  is  Christ 
personally  and  prior  to  the  millennium. 

To  the  second,  with  a  little  extension, 
we  have  no  objection  ;  and  are  disposed 
to  believe,  that  if  its  advocates  were 
called  upon  to  explain  and  particularize, 
they  would  speedily  arrive  at  what  we 
have  mentioned  as  the  first,  as  we  have 
stated  it.  For  if  the  angel  be  Christ,  it 
must  be  either  providentially  ox  person- 
ally that  he  comes  down  from  heaven. 
If  providentially,  and  not  personally,  it 
must  be  by  some  visible  agency ;  the 
vision  implies  it.  "  I  saw  an  angel  come 
down."  All  we  object  to,  is  the  impro- 
priety of  maintaining  the  angel  to  be 
the  same  personally  with  Michael  the 
Prince.  For  if  it  be  meant  that  the 
energy  and  power  by  which  Satan  is 
bound  is  the  Lord's,  and  that  the  minis- 
try of  the  gospel  is  the  agency  by  and 
through  whose  means  he  will  exert  this 
power,  then  this  coincides  with  the  first 
view  stated.  To  this  the  Hillel  (Ps. 
cxlix.)  refers,  "  Let  the  high  praises  of 
God  be  in  their  mouth;  and  a  two-edged 


302 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


sword  in  their  hand  ;  to  execute  ven- 
geance upon  the  heathen  :  and  punish- 
ments upon  the  people  ;  to  bind  their 
kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles  with 
fetters  of  iron  :  to  execute  the  judgment 
that  is  Written  ;  this  honour  have  all  his 
saints."  The  judgment  is  not  less  the 
Lord's,  because  of  man's  agency  in  its 
execution. 

Against  this  view,  it  may  be  objected, 
that  the  key  of  the  abyss  cannot  be  en- 
trusted to  human  hands,  however  holy 
and  full  of  zeal.  But  is  it  not  obvious  that 
the  kejrs  of  the  kingdom  are  committed 
to  the  elders  of  the  church,  who  have 
power  to  bind  and  to  loose  men,  and 
does  not  the  Psalm  quoted,  show  that 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  they  bind 
princes.  We  have  seen  the  key  of  the 
bottomless  pit  in  the  hand  of  a  fallen 
star,  an  ajjostate  Christian  minister.  Ser- 
gius,  the  monk,  opened  the  abyss ;  he 
unlocked  the  door,  and  let  out  the  lo- 
custs. Is  there  then,  any  incongruity  in 
the  true  ministry  of  God  holding  the 
same  key,  and  chaining  down  the  great 
foe  of  God  and  man  ?  Has  the  Redeemer 
any  other  official  visible  agency  to  coun- 
teract Satan  and  his  works,  to  restrain 
and  check,  and  ultimately  to  suppress 
his  power  over  men,  but  the  gospel  mi- 
nistry? Now  this  phrase,  all  of  it  is  well 
adapted  to  express  these  influences  of 
gospel  preachers.  The  key  and  the 
chain,  the  seizure  and  binding  of  Satan; 
the  thrusting  him  down,  locking  him 
fast,  and  setting  a  seal  upon  the  door : 
surely  these  are  not  designed  to  be 
literally  understood;  they  are  not  phy- 
sical operations,  but  spiritual,  suited 
to  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  culprit  so 
seized  and  imprisoned.  The  object  of 
the  imprisonment  is  to  prevent  the  arch- 
fiend from  injuring  the  church  by  de- 
ceiving mankind  ;  and  the  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  are  the  appropriate  instruments 
of  this  restraint.  By  these  two-edged 
swords  do  the  saints  slay  the  prince  of 
evil,  and  bind  the  nobles  of  the  land  to 
the  throne  of  Messiah  :  by  these  they 
thrust  the  arch-foe  out  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, and  keep  him  at  bay,  under  the 
impassable  barriers  of  his  prison. 

The  thrones  mentioned  in  verse  4,  are 


the  same  which  the  prophet  describes  in 
chap.  iv. ;  the  seats  of  the  presbyters 
and  symbols  of  their  authority.  The 
truth  here  taught,  is  therefore  exceed- 
ingly simple.  During  the  thousand  years, 
the  presbyters,  or  ruling  officers  of  the 
church,  will  reign  along  with  Christ,  and 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  he  will  reign; 
differing  from  him  only  as  to  the  mea- 
sure of  their  influence.  In  what  sense 
the  Mediator  will  reign  a  thousand  years 
has  already  been  hinted.  He  will  not  be 
personally  present ;  he  will  not  sit,  in 
his  humanity,  upon  a  throne  literally, 
as  kings  are  wont.  We  do  not  believe 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  pre-millennial  per- 
sonal advent  of  Messiah.  But  as  this 
belief  now  excites  considerable  attention ; 
as  there  is  much  more  plausibility  in  it 
than  many  seem  to  suppose ;  as  it  is 
often  spoken  against,  by  persons  who 
seem  to  understand  not  whereof  they 
affirm,  we  deem  it  worthy  of  a  distinct 
discussion,  and  we  shall  defer  it,  there- 
fore, for  the  present,  and  proceed  with 
the  context. 

Our  idea  of  the  governing  power  of 
the  church  and  its  officers  during  the 
millennium,  has  been  in  substance  stated 
before.  The  Redeemer  and  his  people, 
rather,  he  in  and  through  them,  will  rule 
by  the  power  of  truth  and  moral  prin- 
ciple in  the  heart.  At  great  length,  and 
at  the  risk  of  being  censured  for  repeti- 
tion, we  have  laboured  to  show  that 
entire  separation  of  the  church  and  the 
civil  government  is  indispensable  to  hu- 
man freedom.  Of  course,  in  the  mil- 
lennium the  ecclesiastical  will  be  wholly 
distinct  from  the  civil  organization,  yet 
powerfully  co-operate  to  its  support,  by 
its  internal  moral  force;  and  in  this 
sense  it  is  that  Christ  and  his  saints 
reign  on  the  earth. 

On  this  point  we  may  here  notice  the 
Millenarian  view.  It  is  precisely  con- 
trary of  the  above.  There  will  be  but 
one  organization.  Christ  will  be  king, 
and  the  raised  martyrs  his  subordinate 
governors,  judges,  executors  of  law,  and 
there  will  be  no  other  civil  and  no  other 
ecclesiastical  government. 

In  view  of  this,  we  will  admit  that  the 
position  often  advanced,  of  the  necessity 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


303 


of  separating  the  two,  in  order  to  human 
freedom,  is  not  infringed  upon  in  reality, 
because  that  position  is  limited  to  govern- 
ment in  merely  human  hands ;  but  this 
is,  by  hypothesis,  under  the  direct  per- 
sonal control  of  the  divine  Saviour,  and, 
of  course,  must  be  infallibly  free  from 
all  injustice  and  oppression.  If,  there- 
fore, the  pre-millennial  advent  could  be 
sustained  as  an  event  foretold,  there 
would  arise  against  it  no  just  opposition 
on  the  ground  we  maintain. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  can  be 
against  us  no  valid  objection,  when  we 
maintain  that  during  the  millennium  the 
Saviour  will  reign  providentially  in  his 
church,  by  holy  influences,  governing 
all  hearts  by  abundant  infusions  of  light 
and  love,  and  thus,  and  only  thus,  will 
the  saints  sit  on  thrones  of  civil  do- 
minion. The  fact  of  their  being  mem- 
bers of  the  church  will  not  place  them 
on  civil  thrones  and  invest  them  with 
civil  authority;  but  the  fact  of  their 
being  truly  holy  and  upright  will  cause 
them  to  operate  an  incalculable  and  con- 
trolling influence  over  all  men.  The 
very  same  individuals  who  compose  the 
church,  and  some  of  whom  shall  be  its 
most  influential  rulers,  will  be  citizens 
of  the  commonwealth,  and  by  the  legiti- 
mate working  of  the  representative  sys- 
tem, will  be  rulers  in  civil  government. 
Thus  standing  in  a  twofold  relation  to 
the  church  and  to  the  civil  government, 
he  brings  the  light,  purity,  and  love  fur- 
nished by  religion,  and  its  Author,  to 
bear  upon  the  direction  of  the  civil 
power  entrusted  to  him  :  and  this  being 
the  case  with  the  great  body  of  mankind, 
the  dominion  will  be  thus  given  to  the 
saints,  and  the  little  stone  will  become  a 
great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth. 
This  dominion  is  not  founded  in  grace, 
as  the  fanatical  Millenarians  of  the  six- 
teenth century  believed :  but  the  right 
exercise  of  it  is  secured  by  grace.  It 
comes  indeed  from  Christ ;  but  it  is 
given  to  man  as  man,  and  not  to  men 
as  church  members,  nor  even  as  sub- 
jects of  grace.  Civil  government  is  an 
original  institution  of  God  ;  the  gospel 
is  a  remedial  dispensation,  or  the  dis- 
pensation of  a  remedial  law,  and  comes 


in  after  civil  government,  which  is  lawful 
and  right  when  rightly  administered,  even 
in  pagan  countries.  But  the  want  of  light 
secures  immense  defects  in  the  adminis- 
tration, until  true  religion  enters  and  rec- 
tifies the  understanding  and  purifies  the 
heart  :  then  its  evils  are  corrected,  and 
it  acknowledges  the  Lord  as  sovereign 
of  the  world.  In  the  thousand  years, 
this  will  be  universal,  or  nearly  so.  The 
angel,  martyr-spirited  ministry  will  bind 
Satan,  and  restore  the  world  to  freedom 
from  the  voke  of  his  debasing  bondage. 

We  proceed  to  the  first  resurrection. 
Our  position  is,  that  the  remaining  part 
of  verse  4,  and  the  whole  of  Dan.  xii.  2, 
refer  to  a  spiritual  resurrection, — a  re- 
vival of  religion  which  brings  back,  as 
it  were,  the  spirit  of  the  long-since-be- 
headed martyrs  ;  just  as  John  Baptist 
was  a  revived  Elias,  because  he  came  in 
the  spirit  and  power  of  the  ancient 
prophet.  Concomitant  with  the  restora- 
tion of  Israel  and  the  destruction  of 
Megiddo,  the  spirit  of  the  primitive  mar- 
tyrs will  animate  the  ministry  of  the 
church,  and  produce  such  zeal  and  de- 
votion to  God's  glory  and  man's  salva- 
tion, that  it  will  be  like  life  from  the 
dead.  Such,  we  understand  to  be  the 
meaning  of  this  first  resurrection.  For 
illustration  and  proof,  let  us  advert  to  a 
most  important  event  of  that  age,  pre- 
dicted by  another  prophet. 

Ezekiel  (xxxvii.)  gives  us  a  detailed 
account  of  a  glorious  revival  in  Israel 
and  Judah.  This  vision  of  the  valley  of 
dry  bones,  is  a  most  lively  description  of 
one  important  branch  of  the  first  resur- 
rection. It  is  expressly  applied  by  the 
spirit  to  the  conversion  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  their  union  and  restoration  to 
their  own  land.  "And  they  shall  dwell 
in  the  land  that  I  have  given  unto  Jacob 
my  servant,  wherein  your  fathers  dwelt : 
and  they  shall  dwell  therein,  even  they 
and  their  children,  and  their  children's 
children  for  ever:  and  my  servant  David 
shall  be  their  prince  for  ever."  (Verse 
26.)  Now,  it  is  to  be  specially  noted, 
that  this  immediately  precedes  the  war 
of  Gog,  which  is  in  the  time  of  the  end. 
Can  any  one  doubt  the  identity  in  part 
of  this  revival  with  the  living  and  reign- 


304 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


ing' with  Christ  in  the  Apocalypse? 
We  said  in  part,  for  there  are  other  and 
more  extensive  branches  of  the  same 
general  revival ;  but  surely  the  conver- 
sion of  Israel,  which  will  be  a  nation 
born  in  a  day,  will  be  as  a  resurrection 
from  the  grave. 

Again,  our  Saviour  in  John  v.  speaks 
of  a  twofold  resurrection,  one  spiritual 
and  the  other  bodily.     Verse  25,  "  Ve- 
rily, verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  hour  is 
coming  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
they  that  hear  shall  live."     He  had  just 
asserted  the  connexion  between  believing 
and  life,  and,  perceiving  the  rising  doubts 
of  his  auditory,  he  strengthens  his  ex- 
pression, and  assures  them  that  he  speaks 
not  of  a  coming  to  life  at  a  future  time, 
but  it  now  is, — the  dead  do  now   hear 
and    live.       Most    certainly,    here    is  a 
spiritual    resurrection,    a    rising   of  the 
spiritually   dead.      Then   in  verses  28, 
and  29,  he  affirms  the  bodily  resurrec- 
tion;  "  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which 
all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall   hear 
his  voice,  and   shall   come  forth  ;  they 
that  have  done  good  to  the  resurrection 
of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  to 
the  resurrection  of  damnation."      This 
is  equally  unequivocal.     It  relates  to  the 
bodily  rising,  and   is  analogous  to  the 
two  risings  here  mentioned.     The  first 
is  limited  to  the  martyrs;  indeed,  if  we 
insist  on  exact  literalism,  to  a  small  por- 
tion  of  them   only,  viz.   the  "  beheaded 
for  the  witness  of  Jesus."     It  refers  not 
at  all   to  their  bodies,  but  expressly  to 
their  souls. 

Let  it  not  be  said  here,  that  the  word 
souls  is  taken  figuratively  for  the  entire 
persons  ;  as  when  it  is  said,  "  and  there 
were  added  unto  them  about  three  thou- 
sand souls  ;"  for  if  this  sense  be  insisted 
on  here,  it  must  be  maintained  also  in 
chap.  vi.  9,  where  the  souls  are  seen 
under  the  altar.  Will  it  be  admitted  that 
the  entire  persons  here  are  intended  ? 
If  such  sense  be  wholly  inadmissible  in 
the  former,  so  it  must  be  in  the  latter 
case.  If  the  human  persons  of  the  mar- 
tyrs were  not  seen  under  the  altar,  nei- 
ther here  are  the  human  persons  of  the 
same  martyrs   raised   to  life :   it  is  the 


spirit    (^ir^y)),   the   feeling  intelligence, 
and  therefore  there  arises  a  very  strong 
presumption,    that    the    bodies    are    not 
here  designed  ;  but  only  that  the  spirits 
of  the  martyrs, — not  in  the  sense  of  a 
metempsychosis  or  Pythagorean  trans- 
migration, but  in  the  scriptural  sense  in 
which   John    the   Baptist    came   in    the 
spirit  of  Elias, — were  seen  to  animate  the 
revived  church,  and  arm  its  missionaries 
for  heroic  deeds.     That  such  a  revival 
is  to  take  place  is  not  disputed,  however, 
and   we  may  not  dwell   in   proof:   the 
only  doubtful  point  is  whether  the  lan- 
guage before  us  is  designed  to  teach  it. 
Our  business  is  to  remove  the  difficulties 
from  the  way  of  this  application :   and 
we  think  there  are  but  two  remaining. 
It  is  said,    "  But   the  rest  of  the  dead 
lived  not  again  until  the  thousand  years 
were  finished.     This  is  the  first  resur- 
rection !"     The  rest  of  the  dead  revived 
not, — this  is  the  most  literal   meaning. 
The  souls  of  the  martyrs  revived,  lived 
again,  in  the  persons  of  those  millennial 
believers  ;  but  the  souls  of  the  other  por- 
tion of  the  dead  revived  not, — they  did 
not  live  again, — did  not  reappear  in  the 
millennial    believers  or  unbelievers  :  for 
the  rest  of  the  dead  consist  of  these  two 
classes.     Using  the  term   then   in   the 
very  same  sense  in  application  to  these 
two  classes,  as  to  the  class  of  martyrs, 
the  meaning  is  plainly  this  :  the  souls  of 
the  ordinary  believers  who  had  not  the 
martyr   spirit,  did   not   revive ;   a  more 
bold  and  self-denying  spirit  characterizes 
the  whole   millennial   church  than  was 
found  in  them;  nor  did  the  souls  of  the 
unbelievers  revive  :  in  that  glorious  day 
such   a  class  will    not   be  found;   they 
will  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  God's 
holy  mountain ;   and   there  will  not  be 
need  any  more  to  teach  every  man  his 
brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord,  for  all 
shall  know  him. 

Nor  does  the  sixth  verse  present  any 
greater  difficulty.  The  first  resurrection 
is  the  blessed  revival  of  the  martyr 
spirit  in  the  church  ;  and  the  second 
death  undoubtedly  is  the  soul's  death  in 
hell,  its  banishment  into  eternal  destruc- 
tion. Now  we  believe  that  every  soul 
that  is  born  of  God  shall  live  for  ever; 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


305 


he  that  believeth  in  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life.  If  then  all  believers  have 
eternal  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  con- 
demnation, but  are  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  how  much  more  certainly 
those  in  the  millennial  day,  who  will 
have  drunk  in  the  spirit  of  Paul  and  all 
the  blessed  martyrs !  On  sueh  the 
second  death  hath  no  power. 

Nor  is  there  any  thing  here  necessa- 
rily implying  that  the  individuals  shall 
live  a  thousand  years ;  that  literally 
there  shall  be  no  death  ;  although  this 
even  would  scarcely  be  a  miracle.  Hu- 
man life  once  approximated  that  age; 
and  when  grace  shall  have  purified  the 
soul  in  a  degree  beyond  what  was  real- 
ized in  the  antediluvian  believers,  who 
shall  say  that  these  bodies  may  not 
experience  almost  immortality  on  earth, 
and  outlive  Methuselah  himself?  With 
the  felicity  and  holiness  of  that  period, 
every  analogy  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  life  of  man  will  be  greatly  pro- 
longed. But  this  is  not  a  question  for 
us  ;  it  lies  not  in  our  way.  Sufficient 
is  it  to  show,  that  such  language  as  is 
before  us  is  used  in  scripture  to  express 
a  revival  of  the  spirit  and  a  mystical  or 
figurative  resurrection ;  where  the  de- 
sign is  not  to  affirm  a  literal  raising  of 
the  body  to  life.  If  it  has  been  satisfac- 
torily done,  we  are  ready  to  proceed 
to  a  similar  inspection  of  the  parallel 
passage  in  Daniel,  (chap.  xii.  2.) 

"And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the 
dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to 
everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt."  The  chronology 
of  the  writer  leads  us  here  to  understand 
this  of  the  same  spiritual  awakening  ; 
and  yet  the  force  of  the  language  in  our 
English  translation,  has  led  most  com- 
mentators to  the  conclusion  that  a  real, 
bodily  resurrection  is  intended.  The 
Literalists  or  Millenarians  agree  with  us 
here  as  to  chronology,  as  they  do  in 
the  former  case,  and  sustain  from  it 
their  doctrine  of  a  pre-millennial  resur- 
rection of  the  bodies  of  the  saints.  The 
point  between  us,  is  therefore,  simply  as 
to  the  applicability  of  these  two  terms  to 
a  spiritual  awakening.  Still,  we  hold 
the  chronology  to  be  a  part  of  a  sound 

39 


argument  for  our  view.  At  the  acknow- 
ledged season  of  this  awakening,  it  is 
admitted,  there  will  be  a  great  spiritual 
revival  of  religion  ;  if  then  the  phrase  is 
at  all  applicable,  without  doing  violence 
to  scripture  usage,  we  are  entitled  to 
the  benefit  of  the  synchronism ;  and 
may  infer  the  identity  of  this  awakening 
from  the  dust,  and  the  admitted  great 
coming  revival. 

Again:  the  word  translated  sleep,  signi- 
fies to  be  languid,  faint,  nerveless.  It  is, 
perhaps,  used  on  three  occasions,  as 
significant  of  bodily  death.  "For  now 
should  I  have  lain  still  and  been  quiet,  I 
should  have  slept;  then  had  I  been  at 
rest."  (Job  iii.  13.)  "So  man  lieth 
down,  and  riseth  not ;  till  the  heavens 
be  no  more  they  shall  not  awake,  nor 
be  raised  out  of  sleep.''''  (Job  xiv.  12.) 
"I  will  make  them  drunken,  that  they 
may  rejoice  and  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep 
and  not  awake,  saith  the  Lord  I"  (Jer. 
li.  39,  57.)  But,  ordinarily,  when  in  the 
Old  Testament  sleep  is  used  for  death,  a 
different  word  is  employed.  This  always 
occurs  in  the  very  common  phrase,  "slept 
with  his  fathers,"  a  periphrasis  for  death. 
It  means  simply  to  lie  down,  without  re- 
gard  to  the  kind,  or  manner,  or  purpose 
of  the  act.  Now  we  submit  it,  whether, 
if  Gabriel  had  designed  to  express  na- 
tural death  here,  he  would  not  have  used 
the  word  applied  so  constantly  in  the 
scriptures  for  that  purpose?  Why  should 
he  use  a  term,  whose  meaning  is  quite 
doubtful,  whilst  there  was  one  at  his 
command  which  long  practice  had  ap- 
propriated to  such  a  use  ?  There  arises 
thus,  a  high  presumption,  that  bodily 
death  is  not  meant ;  but  only  a  great  de- 
gree of  languor  and  heartless  indiffe- 
rence to  the  interests  of  religion. 

But  again,  this  presumption  is  strength- 
ened by  the  connected  phrases,  "  Many 
from  the  sleepers  of  earthly  dust ;" — 
sleepers  or  sleeping  oties  of  earth's  dust, 
may  very  well  be  understood  to  mean, 
persons  in  love  with  earth  and  earthly 
things  ;  in  whom  is  no  life,  and  activity, 
and  energy  in  regard  to  spiritual  things  ; 
who  in  these  are  dull  and  lifeless.  And 
farther,  "  many  from  the  sleeping  ones 
of  earth's  dust  shall  arise."     The  word 


306 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


translated  shall  arise,  signifies,  to  stimu- 
late or  rouse  up  from  languid  inaction  to 
vigorous  effort.  As  in  Psalm  xxxv.  23, 
"Stir  up  thyself;  and  awake  to  my  judg- 
ment,— my  God  and  my  Lord."  It  can- 
not mean  here,  and  it  never  does  mean, 
the  beginning  of  life,  but  only  the  re- 
calling to  energetic  action  of  the  life  or 
powers  which  were  in  an  inactive  or 
nerveless  state.  Thus  the  natural  and 
proper  force  of  the  language  does  not  at 
all  involve  the  idea  of  dead  bodies  of 
men  coming  to  life  again  ;  but  only  of 
persons  in  a  careless  and  secure  con- 
dition, being  aroused,  rather  arousing 
themselves  to  vigorous  action,  shaking  off 
the  dust  of  indolence,  and  calling  their 
powers  forth  into  exercise. 

Such  will  be  the  state  of  the  world  and 
the  church,  immediately  prior  to  the 
great  revival  which  ushers  in  the  mil- 
lennium :  the  latter  will  be  only  half 
aroused,  as  it  now  is  ;  and  the  former 
will  be  wholly  stupid  and  languid  as  to 
the  great  events  in  prospect.  In  verse 
1st,  the  angel  assures  Daniel,  that  in 
this  season  of  unparalleled  trouble,  the 
Israelites  should  be  restored,  as  Ezekiel 
teaches;  "Thy  people  shall  be  delivered." 
And  farther,  the  very  clods  of  Gentilism, 
the  sleeping  ones  of  earthly  clay,  shall 
stir  themselves  up,  and  inquire  after  the 
Lord ;  not  only  the  bones,  the  inanimate 
fragments  of  the  whole  house  of  Israel, 
spread  up  and  down  the  open  valley, 
"  the  dust  of  Jacob"  will  be  stirred  and 
moved,  bone  to  his  bone ;  but  the  cold 
earth,  that  has  slept  for  ages  in  all  the 
darkness  of  paganism  and  delusion,  shall 
be  thrown  into  vast  commotion ;  the 
blinded  heathen,  "  multitudes,  multitudes 
in  the  valley  of  decision,"  and  all  over 
the  world,  shall  rouse  up  and  act  vigor- 
ously in  reference  to  religion  and  eternal 
things.  Of  the  vast  masses  of  mankind 
who  shall  thus  be  brought  into  energetic 
action,  some  will  inquire  successfully, 
and  find  the  way  to  salvation,  "  and  so 
shall  live  for  ever ;"  "  some  to  everlast- 
ing life ;"  others  will  spend  their  facul- 
ties in  perverting  and  opposing  the  truth, 
as  the  Romans,  Pagans,  and  the  Mo- 
hammedan-pagans, and  all  forms  of  he- 
retics now  do,  and  shall  utterly  perish, 


"  in  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 
Such  is  the  spiritual  awakening  which 
John  denominates  "  the  first  resurrec- 
tion." 

It  will  be  objected  to  this,  that  it  is 
not  consistent  with  the  plain  meaning  of 
the  English  text,  and  tends  to  shake  con- 
fidence in  our  translation,  and  in  any 
fixed  sense  of  scripture.  All  this  is 
true.  Our  translators  undoubtedly  did 
intend  to  express  the  idea  of  bodily  re- 
surrection here,  and  English  readers  do 
all  so  understand  it ;  and  to  take  a  dif- 
ferent meaning  from  the  words,  must 
operate  to  weaken  their  confidence  in 
the  translation.  Still,  a  faithful  inter- 
preter should  disregard  all  authority  un- 
inspired ;  and  all  readers  ought  to  know 
that  there  is  no  ultimate  judge  of  contro- 
versy but  the  original  scriptures.  By 
the  context  and  the  natural  force  of  the 
original  terms,  we  are  shut  up  to  this  in- 
terpretation, and  must  conclude  that  we 
have  in  it  the  mind  of  the  spirit.  These 
words  do  not  teach  a  resurrection  of  the 
body. 

Paul  makes  evident  allusion  to  the 
resurrectionary  character  of  Israel's  re- 
storation, in  Romans  xi.,  where  he  treats 
of  their  cutting  off  and  casting  away, 
and  the  incidental  effects  of  it  upon  the 
Gentiles.  "  Now  if  the  fall  of  them  be 
the  riches  of  the  world  ;  and  the  dimi- 
nishing of  them  be  the  riches  of  the 
Gentiles,  how  much  more  their  fulness 
.  .  .  if  the  casting  away  of  them  be  the 
reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall  the 
receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the 
dead  V  Here  is  something  very  like  a 
resurrection:  life  from  the  dead.  And 
referring  to  the  sense  of  several  scrip- 
tures, he  says  :  "  Awake,  thou  that  sleep- 
est,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ 
shall  give  thee  light."  (Eph.  v.  14.) 
This,  he  intimates,  is  scriptural  doctrine  ; 
the  arousing  of  attention  to  the  soul's 
welfare  is  a  resurrection ;  but  if  on  a 
large  scale,  it  may  well  be  called,  in 
allusion  to  the  raising  of  the  body  to  life, 
the  first  resurrection. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  throw  a  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  the  Literalist's  view 
of  Daniel  xii.  2.  They  contend  that  a 
resurrection  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


307 


will  occur  at  the  commencement  of  the 
millennium,  and  that  the  second  resur- 
rection will  be  of  the  bodies  of  the 
wicked,  after  the  close  of  the  thousand 
years.  But  if  the  awaking  of  these 
sleepers  from  the  dust  of  the  earth  be  a 
bodily  resurrection,  then  it  contains  too 
much  for  the  Millenarians  :  because  it 
is  expressly  said,  that  some  of  the 
sleepers  shall  awake  to  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt.  This  therefore  is  a 
resurrection  of  the  wicked  as  well  as  of 
the  righteous,  and  consequently  cannot 
be  referred  to  the  first,  if  the  first  is  only 
that  of  the  saints. 

But  again  :  the  awaking  from  sleep  is 
one  and  the  same,  in  reference  to  both 
parts  of  the  awakened ;  many  shall 
awake,  and  of  these  many,  some  to  life, 
and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  con- 
tempt :  clearly  therefore,  there  is  not 
an  intervention  of  a  thousand  years  be- 
tween the  awaking  of  the  former  and 
that  of  the  latter.  They  awake  at  the 
same  time,  and  consequently  this  text 
is  not  only  unavailing  to  the  pre-millen- 
nial  theory, — it  is  fatal  to  it.  If  this  text 
teaches  a  bodily  resurrection,  it  cer- 
tainly comprehends  both  righteous  and 
wicked ;  and  it  is  pre-millennial.  We 
conclude  that  it  contains  not  this  doc- 
trine ;  but  simply  affirms  a  great  awa- 
kening to  the  subject  of  religion,  which 
eventuates  in  the  conversion  of  vast 
multitudes  to  God  ;  whilst  many,  who 
are  aroused  up  for  a  time,  fall  back  to 
perdition. 

But  the  Literalist  objects,  that  if  we 
deny  the  first  resurrection  to  be  bodily, 
the  same  mode  of  interpretation  will  lead 
us  to  deny  the  second  also. 

We  reply,  that  no  second  resurrection 
is  any  where  spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  and 
we  think  even  this  fact  no  small  evi- 
dence, that  there  is  not  a  first  and  a  se- 
cond bodily  rising  from  the  dead.  But 
farther:  there  are  abundant  scriptures, 
and  of  great  variety,  which  declare  that 
the  bodies  of  saints  and  sinners  shall  be 
raised  from  the  dust  of  death.  Jesus 
raised  from  the  dead  Lazarus,  the 
widow's  son,  and  himself,  literally,  and 
under  circumstances  to  cut  off  all  possi- 
bility of  gainsaying,  and   to  prove  by 


facts  the  doctrine  which  he  had  previ. 
ously  proved  from  Moses.  It  therefore 
appears  to  us,  that  Bishop  Newton's  and 
the  Literalist's  fears  are  groundless. 
There  can  no  injury  result  to  scripture 
doctrine  by  contrasting  their  plain  and 
obvious  meaning.  If  we  have  been 
wrong  in  our  apprehensions  of  their 
meaning,  let  us  not  fear  to  rectify  the 
error.  God's  word  is  perfect  and  consis- 
tent with  itself. 

In  conclusion,  observe : 

1.  The  ministry  of  the  pure  gospel 
are  the  appropriate  agents  for  rescuing 
the  world  from  the  dominion  of  Satan  ; 
they  only  can  bind  the  dragon,  thrust 
him  down  into  the  abyss,  and  lock  him 
in.  Civil  rulers  may  bind  the  bodies  of 
men,  and  inflict  punishment  upon  them 
for  crime  committed  ;  but  to  chain  the 
spirit,  to  curb  the  licentious  passions,  to 
bring  the  self-will  of  man  under  the 
power  of  law,  and  to  prevent  the  perpetra- 
tion of  iniquity  bytheimplantationofholy 
dispositions,  they  are  not  the  appropriate 
agents  ;  this  is  the  work  assigned  by  the 
Author  of  spirits  to  the  spiritual  teach- 
ers whom  he  has  sent  into  all  the  world, 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 

2.  Nearly  allied  to  this  is  our  second 
remark,  that  there  is  no  cure  for  the 
maladies  of  our  sinful  world,  but  the 
balm  in  Gilead,  and  no  efficient  applier, 
but  the  Physician  there.  The  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  reach  the  heart,  and  rescue 
man  from  the  tyranny  of  crime  ;  and  so, 
from  the  power  of  Satan  :  and  thus  the 
enemy  of  souls  is  bouad.  His  power  to 
deceive  the  nations  is  taken  away  by  the 
blessed  light  of  the  glorious  gospel. 

3.  We  may  conclude  from  these  verses, 
that  there  is  an  actual  confinement  and 
limitation  of  Satan  ;  he  is  localized  and 
prevented  from  roaming  abroad.  Cre- 
ated spirit  has,  necessarily,  a  local 
habitation  ;  it  cannot  be  present  in  two 
places  at  once,  however  rapid  its  passage 
from  one  place  to  another.  Besides  this, 
Satan  is  to  be  imprisoned.  God  has  per- 
mitted him,  thus  far,  to  walk  abroad 
through  our  world.  Whether  this  license 
extends  beyond  our  globe,  we  are  not 
informed ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  such 
permit  he  has  long  enjoyed  on  the  earth 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


and  in  the  air.  Yet  this  extends  not  to 
all  and  every  kind  of  action  for  evil.  He 
is  restricted  by  the  divine  power,  and 
cannot  do  every  thing  which  his  malig- 
nity prompts.  As  in  the  case  of  Job,  he 
was  kept  from  destroying  his  life,  so,  we 
may  well  believe,  in  all  cases,  that  his 
limit  is  marked  out;  his  bounds  are  fixed, 
which  he  cannot  pass,  to  harm  the  church 
or  any  of  its  members.  This  is  by  an 
invisible  operation  of  the  divine  power, 
as  is  implied  in  that  petition  of  the  Lord's 
prayer,  "deliver  us  from  the  evil  one." 
But  the  language  before  us  goes  farther 
than  this  :  his  power  to  hurt  is  restrain- 
ed within  different  limits  for  the  thousand 
years  :  yea,  his  person  is  arrested  :  the 
privilege  of  walking  to  and  fro  through 
the  earth  is  cut  off,  and  the  sanction  of 
law  seals  his  imprisonment. 

It  were  vain  for  us  to  inquire  where 
this  abyss  is ;  sufficient  let  it  be  for  us 
to  know  that  the  arch-fiend  will  be  so 
bruised  under  the  feet  of  the  gospel  mi- 
nistry, that  the  church  will  enjoy  a  mil- 
lennium of  blessedness,  free  from  his 
accursed  machinations. 

4.  The  millennial  spirit  is  essentially 
a  Popery-hating  spirit :  it  is  the  spirit  of 
the  martyrs,  who  have  not  worshipped 
the  beast,  nor  his  image,  neither  received 
his  mark  in  their  hands  or  upon  their 
foreheads.  Such  are  they  who  shall  live 
and  reign  with  Christ.  The  admirers 
of  despotism  and  Popery,  yea,  even  those 
who  palliate  and  apologize  for  her  abo- 
minations, shall  then  be  unknown.  But 
those  who  abhor  her  iniquities  and  re- 
joice at  her  overthrow  shall  be  blessed, 
and  being  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ, 
shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand  years. 


LECTURE  XXXV. 

POST-MILLENNIAL  SCENES PERMANENT 

STATE   OF  EARTH  AND   OF  MAN. 

Once  more  in  the  close  of  these  lec- 
tures let  me  remind  you  that  they  are 
not  prophecy,  but  only  expository  of 
prophecy.     It  must  have  been  observed 


;"  his  predictions  will 
their  true  and  proper 


frequently,  that  when  we  came  to  speak 
of  matters  yet  future,  we  used  a  guarded 
language.  We  stated  probabilities,  and 
about  the  time  and  in  the  manner  men- 
tioned. But  we  do  not  prophesy.  The 
propriety  of  repeating  this  caution  here 
will  be  evident,  if  you  will  but  reflect 
how  often  the  scripture  predictions  them- 
selves have  suffered  from  the  confidence 
of  interpreters,  and  the  disappointment 
of  readers ;  and  this  bad  logic  which 
substitutes  the  inspiration  of  man  in  the 
room  of  the  inspired  prophecy,  and  then 
concludes  from  the  expositor's  mistakes, 
that  the  words  of  inspiration  have  no 
certain  meaning.  We  are  therefore  ex- 
ceedingly anxious,  that  the  distinction 
should  be  clearly  made  between  our 
opinions  and  the  teachings  of  God's 
holy  word.  "  Let  God  be  true,  but 
every  man  a  liar 
all  be  fulfilled  in 

sense,    notwithstanding  our  errors   and 
mistakes. 

Let  these  repetitions  have  full  applica- 
tion for  the  present  Lecture.  With  cau- 
tion we  should  always  speak  of  the 
future,  where  the  language  of  inspiration 
is  in  any  degree  obscure,  and  its  mean- 
ing doubtful ;  with  peculiar  seriousness 
and  awe  upon  our  spirits,  when  many 
points  are  thus  uncertain  around  a  sub- 
ject so  solemn,  important,  and  grand. 
The  final  judgment, — the  eternal  doom 
of  man,— the  closing  scene  in  earth's 
revolutions, — the  most  transcendent  dis- 
play of  Messiah's  glory  and  power, — 
the  permanent,  the  everlasting  results  of 
his  whole  mediatorial  service,  in  the  fu- 
ture and  unchangeable  condition  of  our 
globe  !  In  view  of  such  subjects,  let  us 
keep  our  eyes  upon  that  which  is  writ- 
ten, and  be  cautious  how  we  attempt  to 
go  beyond  it. 

It  is  not  our  design  to  give  a  full  ex- 
position of  these  two  chapters  :  but  only 
to  seize  the  leading  points  presented  in 
them  and  in  parallel  predictions;  and 
to  hold  them  up  in  such  terms  of  gene- 
rality and  probability  as  shall  be  con- 
sistent with  the  preceding  caution  ;  pre- 
fixing a  remark  or  two  not  comprehended 
in  these  chapters. 

The  first  of  these  relates  to  the  place 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


309 


of  the  general  judgment.  Where  will 
Messiah's  great  white  throne  be  esta- 
blished, when  before  him  shall  be  ga- 
thered all  nations  ?  Will  it  be  on  earth, 
in  heaven,  or  in  the  air? 

This  inquiry  calls  our  attention  to 
Zechariah's  words  :  "  And  his  feet  shall 
stand  in  that  day  upon  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  which  is  before  Jerusalem  on 
the  east,  and  the  Mount  of  Olives  shall 
cleave  in  the  midst  thereof  toward  the 
east  and  toward  the  west,  and  there 
shall  be  a  very  great  valley."  (Ch.  xiv. 
4.)  This  passage  and  Ezek.  xi.  23, 
where  is  described  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
as  going  up  from  the  midst  of  the  city 
and  standing  on  the  mount  which  is  on 
the  east  of  Jerusalem, — the  Mount  of 
Olives,  is  with  plausibility  used  in  favour 
of  the  pre-millennial  advent.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  Ezek.  xliii.  7,  where  the 
Lord  speaks  of"  the  place  of  his  throne 
and  the  place  of  the  soles  of  his  feet, 
where  he  will  dwell  with  the  children  of 
Israel  for  ever."  All  these,  however,  are 
highly  figurative,  and  we  must  not  allow 
ourselves  to  speak  with  confidence.  A 
candid  and  prayerful  reading  of  them, 
and  of  such  others  as  represent  Jerusa- 
lem as  the  throne  of  his  glory  for  ever, 
will  probably  induce  to  the  opinion,  that 
the  second  personal  advent  and  the  ge- 
neral judgment,  will  occur  near  to  the 
place  where  the  Saviour  was  last  seen 
by  his  disciples.  What  modifications 
of  the  whole  surface  of  the  surrounding 
lands  and  mountains  may  be  effected 
by  his  divine  power,  we  cannot  say. 
But  the  judgment  of  reason  finds  an  ob- 
vious propriety  in  the  manifestation  of 
his  glory  being  made  on  the  very  spot 
where  his  humiliation  occurred,  and 
where  his  enemies  for  a  time  triumphed. 
Without  attempting  to  fix  upon  the 
precise  locality,  we  may  advocate  the 
opinion  that  the  judgment  will  take 
place  upon  earth,  from  the  general  ex- 
pressions used  in  reference  to  it,  as  the 
object  of  Christ's  coming.  The  Bible 
often  speaks  of  his  coming  to  judge  the 
world,  which  obviously  implies  the  ac- 
complishment of  that  solemn  service, 
here.  If  not  here,  then  to  accomplish 
it,  he  must  go  away,  instead  of  coming. 


Difficulties  may  be  raised  in  the  way 
of  this  opinion.  How  could  the  literal 
coming,  and  the  literal  erection  of  a 
throne,  and  the  literal  arraignment  of  the 
human  race, — how  could  all  this  occur 
on  any  one  area?  Where  is  the  space  for 
so  immense  a  court-room  ?  In  view  of 
such  interrogations,  we  only  reply,  that 
all  difficulties  arising  from  our  ignorance 
merely,  ought  to  have  little  weight.  The 
King  will  find  a  throne  and  a  place  for 
it ;  the  necessary  area  for  the  parties 
judged,  and  all  the  other  requisites  for 
the  completion  of  his  glorious  work.  Let 
us  leave  the  detail  to  him,  to  be  revealed 
in  due  season. 

It  is  probable,  that  after  the  judgment 
is  past,  the  saints,  now  justified,  will  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth  ;  and  will  remain 
for  a  time  separated  from  it.  They  are, 
at  this  juncture,  possessed  of  spiritual 
bodies,  incapable  of  dissolution,  and  in- 
dependent of  material  support  and  sub- 
sistence. Where?  how  long  shall  they 
remain  ?  how  to  be  sustained  ?  how  em- 
ployed? are  inquiries  we  are  not  curious 
to  answer;  we  will  rather  advert  to  the 
scriptures  which  seem  to  sustain  the 
opinion  of  their  ascension. 

Paul,  in  1  Thess.  iv.  13-17,  endeavours 
to  allay  certain  fears  and  sorrows  of  be- 
lievers, relative  to  the  departed  Chris- 
tians ;  he  states  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
second  personal  advent,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen ;  that  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  ;  and,  omitting  to  "mention  the 
change  of  the  bodies  of  the  living  be- 
lievers from  gross  flesh  and  matter  to 
spiritual  bodies,  (which  he  mentions  in 
1  Cor.  xv.  51,)  he  proceeds,  "Then  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain,  shall  be 
caught  up  together  with  them  (the  raised 
dead  believers)  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the 
Lord  in  the  air :  and  so  shall  we  ever  be 
with  the  Lord." 

The  expression  in  the  preceding  verse, 
— "  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first," 
has  been  applied  improperly,  by  the 
Literalists  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  a  first 
and  a  second  bodily  resurrection.  Doc- 
tor Wardlaw's  criticism  is,  undoubtedly, 
sound  and  true  ;  viz.  that  first,  refers  to 
the  ascension  of  the  living.  We  who 
are  alive  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall 


310 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


not  prevent,  anticipate,  go  before  them 
which  are  lying  in  their  graves.  On  the 
contrary,  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first:  they  shall  come  up  out  of  their 
graves  before  the  living  shall  ascend  : 
then  (fwsim,-)  afterwards  ;  first  the  rais- 
ing of  the  dead,  afterwards  the  ascen- 
sion of  dead  and  living,  now  both  pos- 
sessed of  spiritual  bodies.  This  is  the 
true  sense,  and  the  Literalists'  attempt  to 
explain  it  away  is  an  utter  failure  and 
cannot  be  justified. 

This  context  shows,  that  the  saints, 
raised  from  the  dead  and  changed  into 
spiritual  bodies,  are  caught  up  into  the 
clouds.  The  same  word  is  used  here, 
as  is  employed  when  Plilip  was  caught 
away  by  the  spirit,  after  the  baptism  of 
the  Ethiopian  prince.  In  like  manner 
Paul  was  caught  up  to  the  third  heavens, 
(2  Cor.  xii.  24.)  The  man-child,  (Rev. 
xii.  5,)  was  caught  up  to  God  and  to  his 
throne.  Elijah  was  often  carried  thus 
from  place  to  place.  It  is  idle,  therefore, 
to  raise  difficulty  about  the  physical  pos- 
sibility of  the  thing.  The  law  of  gravi- 
tation is  the  will  of  God,  and  he  may 
dispense  with  it  or  modify  it  at  pleasure. 

All  the  scriptures  that  speak  of  the 
burning  of  the  world,  may  be  referred 
to,  as  proof  that  the  saints  are  first  re- 
moved from  it.  In  Matt.  xxv.  we  are 
told  that  these  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment,  into  the  lake  that 
burns  with  fire  and  brimstone ;  but  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal ;  that  is,  shall 
go  away,  he  does  not  say,  ascend  or  go 
upward,  but  it  is  a  reverse  departure 
from  that  of  the  wicked,  which  is  down- 
ward. 

Correspondent  with  this  idea  is  the 
language  of  our  context:  "  I,  John,  saw 
the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven  ;"  it  must 
therefore  have  gone  up  previously.  We 
submit  it  then,  whether  it  be  not  highly 
probable,  that  after  the  sentence  of  judg- 
ment, the  saints  and  their  Redeemer- 
Judge,  do  rise  from  the  earth  and  pass 
away  in  glorious  triumph  from  all  its 
pollutions,  to  dwell  for  a  time  in  some 
other  portion  of  his  vast  empire.  But 
we  may  be  aided  to  a  correct  opinion  by 
our  next  remark. 


Immediately  after  the  final  judgment, 
and  the  ascent  of  the  righteous,  this 
globe  will  be  overwhelmed  in  a  deluge 
of  fire;  and  this  will  be  the  commence- 
ment of  that  burning  which  will  never 
cease  upon  the  persons  of  the  finally 
impenitent  and  unbelieving.  Thus  their 
punishment  begins  on  the  very  earth 
where  they  have  so  often  seemed  to 
triumph  :  and  indeed,  at  this  very  last 
departure  of  the  Saviour  and  his  people, 
seemed  to  triumph.  For,  it  may  be, 
that  at  the  pronunciation,  as  it  were,  of 
the  sentence,  the  fiends  of  hell  and  the 
apostate  sons  of  Adam,  who  are  in  the 
league  and  condemnation  with  them,  will 
make  a  rush  upon  the  saints  to  destroy 
them ;  upon  which,  the  almighty  power 
of  their  Lord  will  lift  them  up  from  their 
foes  on  earth,  and  carry  them  away  in 
glory.  This  hint  is  thrown  out,  not  as 
an  opinion  even,  but  as  a  possibility, 
and  as  a  thing  suggested  by  the  phrase, 
caught  up.  The  scriptural  use  of  the 
original,  is  in  application  to  snatching 
away  by  force,  to  prevent  another  from 
having  and  possessing  the  thing  borne 
away.  We  refer  to  all  the  cases,  and 
leave  them  to  be  examined  at  leisure. 
Matt.  xi.  12;  xiii.  19;  John  vi.  15; 
x.  12,  28,  29 ;  Acts  viii.  39  ;  xxiii.  10  ; 
2  Cor.  xii.  2,  4  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  17  ;  Jude 
23  ;  Rev.  xii.  5.  As  Enoch  was  snatched 
away  from  the  outstretched  hands  of  his 
persecutors,  so  perhaps  may  it  be  with 
the  righteous,  from  the  judgment  seat 
and  from  earth. 

But  however  this  may  be,  certain  it 
is,  that  this  globe  shall  be  subjected  to 
a  fearful  and  fiery  catastrophe, — a  real 
conflagration.  The  account  of  this  matter 
given  in  2  Peter  ch.  hi.,  precludes  the 
possibility  of  a  figurative  interpretation. 
"  The  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a 
thief  in  the  night ;  in  the  which  the 
heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works 
that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up." 
The  preceding  context  shows  that  this 
must  be  understood  literally;  for  it  is 
directly  compared  with  the  destruction 
by  the  flood  of  waters,  and  he  argues 
that  so  certainly  shall  it  be  dissolved  by 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


311 


a  flood  of  fire.  The  apostle  is  answer- 
ing the  taunts  of  unbelievers  in  our  day 
as  well  as  his  own.  These  argued  as 
those  did,  from  the  apparent  delay  (ren- 
dered apparent  by  their  own  ignorance 
in  misunderstanding  the  promise  itself,) 
of  the  promised  coming  of  Christ ; 
"  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ? 
for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all 
things  continue  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning  of  the  creation.  For  this  they 
willingly  are  ignorant  of  that  by  the 
word  of  God  (the  creating  logos,  Jesus,) 
the  heavens  were  of  old,  and  the  earth 
standing  out  of  the  water  and  in  the 
water;  whereby  the  world  that  then 
was,  being  overflowed  with  water,  pe- 
rished :  but  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
which  are  now,  by  the  same  word,  (the 
divine  logos,)  are  kept  in  store,  reserved 
unto  fire,  against  the  day  of  judgment 
and  perdition  of  ungodly  men."  If  the 
deluge  was  a  literal  flood  of  water,  this 
must  be  a  literal  flood  of  fire.  But  the 
water  did  not  annihilate  the  matter  of 
the  globe.  It  modified  its  form,  and 
left  it  as  the  habitation  of  man,  who, 
having  floated  his  destined  period,  de- 
scended and  re-occupied  it. 

What  changes  the  fire  may  effect  in 
the  structure  of  the  globe,  perhaps  even 
modern  geology  may  find  it  difficult  to 
surmise  ;  but  doubtless  such,  and  only 
such,  as  God  wills.  Nor  can  we  be 
censured  as  indulging  in  speculation 
and  fancy,  if  we  suppose  he  will  make 
it,  by  this  agency,  a  beautiful  and  a 
glorious  world,  excelling,  if  possible, 
that  new  and  fair  creation  which  he 
pronounced  very  good,  but  which  Satan 
and  sin  soon  defaced  and  deformed.  He 
will  make  it  a  fit  abode  for  holy  beings, 
possessed  of  spiritual  bodies. 

Peter  speaks  a  language  here  which 
places  this  idea  above  the  category  of 
probabilities.  "Nevertheless,  we,  ac- 
cording to  his  promise,  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness."  He  has  just 
described  the  dissolution  of  the  elobe 
and  its  reduction  to  a  fiery  chaos.  The 
heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  loosened, 
separated  one  portion  from  another;  and 
the  elements, — the  primary  particles  of 


matter,  —  burning   shall    liquefy,   shall 
flow  in  a  liquid  state. 

We  come  now  directly  to  the  chapters 
cited  at  the  head  of  this  lecture.  After 
this  fiery  process,  we,  believing  God's 
promise,  expect  new  heavens,  far  brighter 
and  more  glorious  than  those  which  now 
shine  with  so  much  beauty.  The  grosser 
matter  that  now  hides  from  our  view  the 
chief  splendours  of  Jehovah's  works, 
will  be  removed  from  our  atmosphere ; 
or  rather  the  atmosphere  itself  will  give 
place  to  a  new  element,  which  will  let 
in  upon  our  dark  world  all  the  glories 
of  the  eternal  throne.  This  new  heaven 
and  new  earth  are  mentioned  in  the  xxi. 
chapter  before  us.  "  And  I  saw  a  new 
heaven  and  a  new  earth ;  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed 
away;  and  there  was  no  more  sea." 
We  have  not  here  so  much  detail  as  in 
Peter's  description  of  the  physical  ac- 
commodations for  the  renovated  and 
redeemed  church  ;  it  being  the  leading 
purpose  of  the  Spirit  to  describe  the 
spiritual  heaven  or  church  :  he  therefore 
simply  says,  that  the  first  heaven,  and 
earth,  and  sea,  are  no  more  ;  but  there 
is  a  new  order  of  things  physical,  adapted 
to  the  new  order  spiritual ;  which  last 
he  immediately  proceeds  to  describe. 

"  And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out 
of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband." 

As  Noah  and  the  infant  church  were 
caught  up  in  the  ark,  and  again  de- 
scended to  the  earth  ;  so  the  whole  body 
of  God's  redeemed,  who  were  caught  up 
immediately  before  the  universal  deluge 
of  fire,  will  again  descend  and  take  up 
their  residence  upon  the  renovated  earth, 
and  there  they  will  abide  for  ever.  Peter 
informs  us  that  in  this  new  earth  right- 
eousness dwelleth.  On  this  idea,  the 
apocalyptic  vision  enlarges  very  fully. 
From  verse  second  to  verse  eighth  in- 
clusive, it  exhibits  the  beauty,  felicity, 
and  glory  of  this  redeemed  multitude; 
their  nearness  to  God,  his  abode  with 
them,  his  kindness  to  them,  their  freedom 
from  all  pain,  anguish,  sorrow,  death  ; 
the  faithfulness  of  their  Redeemer,  the 
abundant  communication  of  all  spiritual 


312 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


joys ;  and  the  utter  banishment,  or  ex- 
clusion of  all  workers  of  iniquity  from 
the  renewed  world,  into  "the  lake  which 
burnetii  with  fire  and  brimstone  :  which 
is  the  second  death." 

Again  :  from  verse  ninth  to  verse  fifth 
in  the  next  chapter,  the  same  things  are 
brought  forward,  in  a  highly  figurative, 
but  very  beautiful  description,  in  which 
the  renovated  church  is  spoken  of  as 
"  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,"  and  sym- 
bolized by  a  great  city,  constructed  of 
costly  gems,  in  allusion  to  the  twelve 
tribes  and  twelve  apostles,  and  the  repre- 
sentation of  them  by  precious  stones. 
This  gorgeous  description,  we  cannot 
enter  upon  in  detail .  it  is  well  calculated 
to  impress  the  mind  with  a  sense  of  the 
beauty,  glory,  and  perfection  of  that 
happy  world. 

We  may  note,  however,  particularly, 
the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life,  clear 
as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  as  the  stand- 
ing scripture  type  of  the  Spirit  and  his 
heavenly  consolations  :  the  tree  of  life 
yielding  twelve  kinds  of  fruits,  or  rather 
twelve  fruits,  fruit  for  every  month,  as 
an  emblem  of  Christ  in  his  health-giving 
and  life-preserving  influences;  the  pre- 
sence of  the  God  and  Lamb,  upon  his 
throne,  reigning  over  an  obedient  and 
adoring  world  ;  and  the  effulgence  of  its 
light  as  emanating  from  the  Lord  God, 
even  the  Lamb. 

This,  it  appears  to  us,  is  the  true,  pro- 
per, and  full  meaning  of  those  scriptures 
which  speak  of  the  saints  inheriting  the 
earth.  Disposed  to  repine  at  the  pros- 
perity of  the  wicked,  and  their  iniquitous 
plots,  David  admonishes  himself,  or  the 
Lord  admonishes  him,  not  to  murmur, 
"For  evil-doers  shall  be  cut  oft";  but 
those  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall 
inherit  the  earth.  For  yet  a  little  while, 
and  the  wicked  shall  not  be  ;  yea,  thou 
shalt  diligently  consider  his  place,  and  it 
shall  not  be.  But  the  meek  shall  inhe- 
rit the  earth."  (Ps.  xxxvii.  8,  9,  10,  22; 
Isa.  Ix.  21;  lxv.  9;  Matt.  v.  5.)  "Blessed 
are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth."  "  But  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High  shall  take  the  kingdom,  and  shall 
possess  the  kingdom  for  ever,  even  for 


ever  and  ever."  "  And  the  kingdom  and 
dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be 
given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall 
serve  and  obey  him."  (Dan.  vii.  18,  27.) 

Other  texts,  almost  innumerable,  there 
are,  which  bear  in  the  same  direction, 
and  many  of  which,  like  these,  do  not 
seem  to  admit  of  any  natural  and  uncon- 
strained interpretation,  but  the  one  we 
propose.  We  therefore  feel  shut  up  to 
the  opinion  of  a  literal  restoration  of  the 
earth,  in  a  purified  and  probably  in  a 
vastly  enlarged  form,  to  man,  and  of 
man  to  the  earth.  Other  reasons  may 
be  given  besides  the  plain  and  literal  ex- 
pressions of  scripture. 

As  already  observed  incidentally,  the 
natural  operation  of  fire  is  not  to  annihi- 
late even  the  combustible  bodies  :  it  only 
changes  the  form.  The  burnt  body  still 
exists  in  its  elements  ;  not  one  particle  of 
its  matter  is  annihilated.  On  the  sup- 
position of  the  earth's  never  afterwards 
becoming  the  habitation  of  man,  the  ques- 
tion would  arise,  to  what  use  will  it  be 
appropriated  ?  Will  it  abide  for  ever,  a 
fiery  chaos,  and  the  residence  of  the 
wicked?  If  so,  how  will  the  advocates 
of  this  hypothesis  explain  the  texts  above 
quoted  ?  If  it  do  not  continue  the  abode 
and  place  of  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
nor  the  beautified  and  glorious  habitation 
of  the  righteous,  will  it  remain  for  ever 
a  globe  of  chaotic  liquid  fire? 

To  both  these  hypotheses  we  state  the 
insuperable  objection,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered the  second  general  reason  for  our 
opinion  ;  that  for  the  earth  to  abide  the 
hell  of  the  wicked,  or  a  desolate  chaos, 
would  be  a  triumph  to  Satan.  The  Re- 
deemer leaves  the  battle-field  in  posses- 
sion of  the  enemy.  A  portion  of  earth's 
inhabitants,  indeed,  he  bears  to  another 
and  a  happier  sphere  ;  but  still  the  fact 
that  a  world  is  desolated  by  sin,  stands 
a  gloomy  memorial  of  Satan's  success. 
Whereas,  on  the  supposition  of  its  puri- 
fication, and  of  redeemed  man,  and  his 
glorious  Redeemer  returning  and  abid- 
ing interminably  upon  it,  in  a  state  of 
felicity  superior  to  that  which   Satan  at 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


313 


first  disturbed,  the  triumph  of  God  the 
Saviour  over  the  powers  of  hell  has  here 
an  everlasting  monument.  And,  though 
a  small  portion  of  the  human  family  are 
still  under  the  adversary's  tyranny,  yet 
he  and  they  are  banished  from  the  world, 
or  at  least  from  its  beautified  exterior, 
into  the  place  of  endless  torment. 

We  may  possibly  be  asked,  whither 
Satan  and  his  legions  are  to  be  driven, 
and  where  is  the  place  of  their  abode  ? 
If  the  querist  will  tell  us  where  the  abyss 
is,  we  may  possibly  be  able  to  answer 
his  query.  Is  the  abyss,  or  ^bottomless 
pit,  where  Satan  is  to  be  chained  a  thou- 
sand years,  within  the  earth,  or  is  it  in 
some  other  sphere  ?  Should  the  former 
opinion  be  entertained,  our  answer  is 
obvious.  God  may  continue  the  prison 
of  apostate  spirits  within  the  body  of 
our  earth.  A  vast  concave,  subterra- 
nean, sulphureous  habitation  may  now 
exist,  "  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels,  where  they  shall  be  tormented 
day  and  night  for  ever  and  ever."  These 
apostate  spirits  are  not  omnipresent,  they 
have  a  local  habitation,  and  that  in  the 
aggregate.  They  are  driven  away  in 
company ;  and  the  natural  presumption 
is,  that  they  abide  for  ever  together, 
mutual  torments  to  each  other.  Their 
locality  will  be  such  as  most  effectually 
to  subserve  the  ends  of  eternal  justice ; 
and  for  aught  appears,  the  idea  that  the 
abyss  may  be  within  the  earth,  and  may 
be  the  everlasting  prison  of  lost  souls, 
is  congruous  in  itself  and  not  incon- 
sistent with  scripture.  Equally  so  is 
the  idea  that  the  surface  of  the  globe 
may  be  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  for 
ever.  These  would  seem  to  answer  the 
ends  of  justice  and  to  justify  the  divine 
government  of  the  victorious  Messiah. 

But  again  :  these  thoughts  lead  us  on 
to  the  magnificent  conception,  that  this 
earth  of  ours  may  be  the  battle-ground 
of  the  moral  universe, — the  vast  and 
only  field  on  which  the  war  of  sin 
against  holiness  is  to  be  brought  to  a 
final  issue.  God  may  have  selected  this, 
out  of  a  thousand  worlds,  as  the  theatre 
on  which  he  would  permit  moral  evil  to 
enter,  and  to  come  in  collision  with  ho- 
liness, with  the  view  of  exhibiting  the 

40 


otherwise  unknown  attribute  of  mercy 
in  bold  contrast  with  justice.  Who  will 
affirm  that  sin  has  ever  appeared  in 
other  spheres, — that  the  Son  of  God 
has  been  sent  to  quell  insurrection  in 
other  departments  of  Jehovah's  bound- 
less domain  ?  Who  will  deny  the  pos- 
sibility of  this  being  the  only  revolted 
province  of  God's  empire, — the  only 
one  to  which  a  Saviour  could  be  sent, — 
the  only  one  wherein  the  Son  of  God 
could  be  born  and  live,  serve  and  suffer, 
bleed  and  die,  rise  and  reign  in  eternal 
union  with  a  created  nature?  Who  can 
assert  that  the  organization  of  this  mun- 
dane system,  for  such  a  purpose,  might 
not  give  occasion  meet  for  the  morning 
stars  to  sing  together  and  all  the  sons  of 
God  to  shout  for  joy  ?  And  who  then 
can  aver,  that  the  glorious  idea  of  Jesus 
Christ  being  a  confirming  head  of  in- 
fluences to  the  whole  moral  universe,  is 
a  mere  conception  of  fancy '? 

To  us,  this  idea  appears  too  magnifi- 
cent to  have  had  its  origin  in  created 
intellect.  If  not  taught  in  the  sacred 
scriptures  expressly,  at  least  it  is  by 
implication.  Doctrines  are  laid  down, 
less  or  more  distinctly,  which  imply  and 
suggest  it.  In  his  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, Paul  takes  occasion  to  repel  the 
arguments  against  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  grounded  on  his  low 
condition  at  his  first  advent,  and  the 
catastrophe  with  which  he  closed  his 
brief  career  among  men.  He  avers  that 
such  a  life  and  such  a  death  were  not 
inconsistent  with  the  glory  of  his  cha- 
racter, if  the  relations  in  which  he  stood 
be  taken  into  consideration.  He  was 
sent  by  God  the  Father  on  a  most  im- 
portant mission  ;  the  final  cause  or  ulti- 
mate end  of  which  was  to  reveal  the 
glorious  attribute  of  God's  mercy,  whilst 
he  should  sustain  unsullied  the  throne 
of  his  justice. 

The  moral  universe  had  an  illustration 
of  divine  justice  in  the  punishment  of 
the  angels  who  kept  not  their  first  estate; 
and  a  display  of  the  divine  goodness  in 
the  blessedness  of  all  those  who  retained 
their  integrity.  But  the  coalescing  of 
these  two  in  mercy  to  the  lost,  had  not 
yet  been  held  up  to  their  admiring  gaze. 


314 


LECTURES  ON  PROPHECY. 


Now,  to  exhibit  the  meeting  of  justice 
and  mercy,  in,  upon,  and  in  relation  to 
the  same  moral  beings,  was  the  object 
of  this  world's  creation  and  of  our 
Lord's  mission  to  it,  including  all  that 
followed.  Standing  in  such  relations 
both  to  God,  to  man,  and  to  the  universe 
of  intelligent  creatures,  the  humiliation 
of  Christ  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
character  of  God  as  the  creator  and 
governor  of  all  worlds.  On  the  con- 
trary, "it  became  him,  for  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in 
bringing  many  sons  into  glory,  to  make 
the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  sufferings."  (Heb.  ii.  10.)  The 
end  does  not  sanctify  the  means.  But 
if  the  end  be  right  and  worthy  of  the 
great  God,  and  nothing  subversive  of 
the  principles  of  his  law  and  govern- 
ment be  found  in  the.  means,  and  they 
be  well  adapted  to  ensure  the  end,  all  is 
right  and  consistent.  Such  is  the  case 
here.  The  end  is  the  bringing  of  many 
sons  unto  glory, — the  display  of  God's 
mercy  in  the  salvation  of  the  lost.  This 
is  right  and  worthy  of  that  Being  who 
is  light  and  love.  The  means  are  the 
humiliation,  suffering,  and  death  of  his 
own  Son.  Is  there  nothing  wrong  in  this? 
Not  if  that  Son  is  the  Lord  of  life,  and 
voluntarily  surrenders  his  life  for  the 
accomplishment,  of  so  glorious  a  purpose. 
And  such  is  the  truth.  Jesus  gives  him- 
self up  most  willingly  to  death,  for  us 
all.  Being  Lord  of  life,  he  might  lay  it 
down  of  himself,  and  resume  it  again. 

Now,  that  these  means  were  well 
adapted  to  accomplish  the  end,  the  whole 
gospel  revelation,  and  the  experience  of 
redeemed  millions,  plainly  testify  ;  con- 
sequently, there  is  a  beautiful  and  glo- 
rious consistency  of  the  entire  humilia- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God,  with  the  cha- 
racter of  God  himself  as  he  stands  re- 
lated to  the  whole  creation.  "It  became 
him,"  as  the  final  cause  and  end  of  all 
things,  "  for  whom  are  all  things  ;"  and 
"  it  became  him,"  as  the  efficient  cause, 
the  creator,  upholder,  and  governor  of 
all  things,  "  by  whom  are  all  things,"  to 
accomplish  this  work  by  these  means. 
Here  we  have  the  grand  idea.  God's 
relation   to   the  whole   universe  makes 


it  proper  and  becoming  that  he  should 
save  sinners  by  his  Son's  death.  This 
death  and  its  consequences  are  happily 
adjusted  and  adapted  to  the  other  depart- 
ments of  the  divine  administration. 

Two  modes  of  this  adaptation  may 
"be  mentioned,— two  ways  in  which  the 
death  of  Christ  materially  affects  the 
whole  moral  creation.  First,  it  gives 
the  highest  conceivable  evidence  of  the 
immutability  of  God's  justice  ;  and  thus 
gives  confirmation  to  rational  intelli- 
gence, that  he  will  never  change  the 
principle  pf  his  government ;  but  sin 
shall  always  be  punished,  and  holiness 
always  be  rewarded.  If  he  would  not 
relax  the  strict  claims  of  his  law,  in  the 
case  of  his  own  Son  under  his  assump- 
tion of  the  sins  of  men  which  he  bore, 
can  it  be  supposed  that  he  will  ever 
relax  ?  If  he  spared  not  the  man  that 
groaned  in  Calvary,  amid  tears  and 
sweat  and  blood,  appealing  to  a  father's 
love,  whom  will  he  ever  spare  when  sin 
lies  upon  him  ?  In  like  manner,  if  he 
will  reward  with  everlasting  consolation, 
the  righteous,  even  though  righteous  by 
the  robes  of  the  Saviour's  procurement 
and  gift,  and  the  washings  of  his  spirit, 
and  not  by  their  own  personal  merits, 
who,  that  are  righteous,  will  he  ever 
cast  off?  Thus  holy  angels  are  con- 
firmed in  their  assured  hope  ;  and,  may 
it  not  be  that  inhabitants  of  other  worlds 
may  be  informed  of  these  things,  and  be 
thus  established  in  their  trust  and  confi- 
dence ? 

The  other  mode  of  giving  confirma- 
tion to  the  moral  universe  may  be  this 
new  form  of  manifesting  the  love  of 
God.  A  question  might  arise,  a  fear 
spring  up  in  the  bosom  of  holy  angels, 
upon  their  perceiving  some  apostatizing 
and  cast  out  of  heaven,  whether  such 
might  not  be  ultimately  their  own  fate. 
What  security  have  we  that  these  crowns 
of  glory  we  shall  always  wear,  that  these 
harps  of  praise  shall  always  in  our  hands 
be  tuned  to  celebrate  the  divine  perfec- 
tions ?  May  we  not  also  fall  ?  If  such 
is  the  nature  of  God's  love,  that  he  per- 
mitted some  angels  to  fall,  oh,  where  is 
our  assurance  that  it  may  not  be  thus 
with  us  ?     If  man  in  yonder  world  has 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


315 


been  left  to  sin  and  die,  are  we  beyond 
the  possibility  of  so  dreadful  a  doom  ? 
Where  is  the  expression  of  God's  love, 
to  which  we  can  betake  ourselves  for 
security  against  such  fears,  and  safety 
against  such  danger  ? 

To  these  anxious  palpitations  in  an- 
gelic bosoms,  we  may  well  suppose,  the 
promises  pledged  in  the  councils  of  eter- 
nity for  man's  redemption,  would  give 
direction  toward  Calvary.  Of  the  mis- 
sion of  the  Son  of  God  to  our  world,  the 
holy  angels  cannot  be  supposed  igno- 
rant. They  knew  its  object  was  to  de- 
stroy the  works  of  Satan  :  and  though 
many  things  about  his  work  they  did  but 
dimly  conceive,  yet  enough  was  known 
to  produce  a  feeling  of  intense  interest. 
Such  an  embassage,  for  such  an  object, 
must  enlist  every  holy  feeling  of  the  im- 
mortal nature.  Accordingly,  Messiah  be- 
comes the  archangel  in  the  war  upon  Sa- 
tan and  his  legions  :  he  leads  the  trains 
of  light  down  to  this  revolted  province. 
Is  it  conceivable,  that  they  shall  minister 
unto  him  and  fight  under  his  command, 
and  yet  feel  no  interest  in  the  result  ? 
Assuredly,  they  stood  in  close  squadrons 
around  Gethsemane  in  the  dark  hour  of 
hell's  last  assault.  Assuredly,  they 
clustered  round  his  <cross,  when  man 
forsook  him  and  fled.  Assuredly,  they 
escorted  his  pure  spirit  to  the  abodes  of 


bliss.  Assuredly,  they  hovered  over  the 
sepulchre,  and  when  he  burst  the  mortal 
bondage  of  the  grave,  they  felt  that  all 
was  safe.  Now  our  crowns  are  secure 
forever.  That  love  which  struggled  and 
bled  and  groaned  and  died  for  rebels, 
will  never  cast  us  off.  Oh,  does  it  not 
become  the  moral  Governor  of  the  uni- 
verse to  make  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion perfect  through  sufferings  ?  Is  not 
he  a  confirming  head  to  that  universe? 
What  a  magnificence  does  this  throw 
around  Gethsemane  and  Calvary  !  In 
what  splendour  does  it  array  the  globe 
we  inhabit !  Polluted  indeed,  and  de- 
based, it  has  been  and  is,  by  sin ;  but 
renovated  it  shall  be,  and  radiant  with 
the  splendour  of  Messiah's  throne,  it 
shall  shine  evermore  the  brightest  star 
in  the  galaxy  of  heaven  ! 

Sinner,  dost  thou  wish  to  occupy  a 
place  in  this  glorious  world?  Does  thy 
heart  aspire  to  this  blessedness?  Then 
hearken  now  to  the  accents  of  mercy. 
"  I,  Jesus,  have  sent  mine  angel  to 
testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the 
churches.  I  am  the  Root  of  David,  the 
bright  and  morning  star.  And  the  Spirit 
and  the  bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him 
that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him 
that  is  athirst,  come :  and  whosoever 
will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely !" 


I  N  D  E  X. 


Axtar   of  burnt-offerings,  symbolic  meaning, 

122,  141. 
Alaric,  his   descent,  143,  invasion  of  Greece, 
143. 
proclaimed  King  of  the  Visigoths,  143. 
his  death,  145. 
Alexander  the  Great,  conquests,  42,  49. 
Albigenses,  persecutions  of,  220. 
Antiochus  the  Great,  52,  54. 
Arcadius,  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  his  treaty 

with  Alaric,  143. 
Arianism,  its   rise  and  persecuting  spirit,  74, 

152. 
Apollyon  of  Revelation  explained,  153. 
Ark  of  the  Covenant,  its  type,  200. 
Assyrian  kingdom,  28. 
Athanasius  persecuted  by  the  Arians,  136. 
Attila  invades  Gaul,  145 ;  Italy,  145. 
Balances,  symbolic  meaning  of,  116. 
Baptism,  use  of  cross  in,  137,  138. 
Babylon,  description  of,  29 ;  Calmet's  account, 
30. 
Jews'  captivity,  time  of,  19. 
Barbarian  invasions,  143. 
Beasts  of  Daniel, — first,  37  ;  second,  40 ;  third, 
41 ;  fourth,  62. 
of  John,  living  creatures,  95,  98. 
of  the  sea,  and  of  the  earth,  209. 
Belisarius,  general  under  Justinian,  211. 
Black,  emblematical  meaning,  116. 
Boheira  or  Sergius,  the  Nestorian  Aonk,  151. 
Book,  large  rolled,  165. 

little,  expounded,  168. 
Calvin,  John,  brief  account  of,  98. 
Cherubim,  their  explanation,  98,  100, 103. 
Church,  its  war  aggressive,  113. 
Charlemagne  proclaimed  and  crowned  King  of 

the  Romans,  87. 
Christianity,   opposition   to   its   progress,  132, 

133. 
Chalons,  defeat  of  Attila  by  iEtius,  145. 
Constantine  the  Great,  his  accession,  establishes 
Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  em- 
pire, 128,  129,  131. 
founds  Constantinople,  131. 
Crown,  symbol  of  ruling  power,  94. 
Crusades,  their  commencement,  161. 
Cutahi  captured  by  the  Turks,  161. 


Cyrus,  his  history,  35. 
Cyril,  an  exposition  by  him,  85. 
Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Carthage,  121. 
Darius,  the  Mede,  47. 
Death  on  the  pale  horse,  119. 
Deism,  teachers  of,  107. 
Denarius,  its  value,  117. 
Demonology,  characteristic  of  Popery,  160. 
Diocesian  Episcopacy,  its  origin,  217. 
Dionysius,  Bishop,  Alexandria,  121. 
Dominicans,  persecutions  by,  216. 
Earth,  symbolical,  114. 
Earthquake,  type  of  revolution,  126. 
Elders,  or  presbyters,  emblematic  of,  106. 
Edict  of  Nantz,  revocation,  and  effects,  208. 
Eusebius,  his  account  of  famines,  118;  of  per- 
secutions, 123. 
Eutychians,  heretics,  152. 
Faber,  Bishop,  on  death  of  witnesses,  174. 

on  the  sign  of  the  cross,  224. 
Franciscans,  monks,  210. 
Final  judgment,  place  of,  301. 
First  resurrection,  300. 
Galba,  Emperor,  revolt  of,  109. 
Gaul,  invaded  by  Attila,  the  Hun,  145. 
Genseric,  invited  into  Italy,  146 ;  invades  Italy, 

and  sacks  Rome,  147. 
Government  of  Rome,  various  forms,  210,  261. 
Gothic  kingdom  in  Italy,  its  fall,  86,  87. 
Gog,  identity  with  the  King  of  the  North,  285, 
286. 

antichristian  Rome,  288. 
Gospel  ministry,  perpetual,  107. 

its  characteristics,  99. 
Grotius,  an  opinion  of,  64. 
Heaven,  symbolic  meaning,  92. 
Heira,  Mohammed's  retreat  to,  77. 
Horn  of  Daniel's  prophetic  fourth  beast,  82. 
Horse,  type  of,  111. 

death  on  the  pale,  119;  white,  112;  red, 
113. 

black,  Keith's  interpretation  of,  116. 
Infidelity,  its  aims  in  America,  208. 
Irenaeus,  his  exposition,  228. 
Jasper  stone,  symbolical,  93. 
Jehoshaphat,  war  of  the  valley  of,  286. 
Jerusalem,  taken  by  Omar,  79. 
Jesuits,  history,  character,  oath,  193,  194. 


318 


INDEX. 


Jesuits,  suppression  of  the  order,  196;  revival, 

249,  250. 
John,  Apostle,  his  banishment,  92,  110. 
Kameniec  in  Poland,  taken  by  the  Turks,  163. 
King  of  many  crowns,  273. 

of  the  North,  identity  with  Gog,  286. 
of  the  South,  289. 
Lateinos,  name  of  the  Papal  power,  228. 
Living  creatures,  95. 

Lloyd,  Bishop,  his  list  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  69. 
Licinius,  marries  the  sister  of  Constantine,  129. 
wars  with  Constantine,  and  death,  130, 131. 
Lombard  Kingdom,  83,  87. 
Loyola  Ignatius,  founder  of  the  order  of  Je- 
suits, 194. 
Luther  before  the  Diet  of  Wurms,  98. 
Machiavelli,  his  list  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  69. 
Mark  of  the  beast,  what,  224. 
Marcus  Popilius  Lenas,  his  embassage  to  Anti- 

ochus  the  Great,  56. 
Marathon,  plain  and  battle,  46. 
Marcus  Antoninus,  his  persecutions,  115. 
Martyrs,  era  of,  123. 
Maximian,  Emperor,  death,  128. 
Maxentius,  Emperor,  death  of,  129. 
Maximus,  Emperor,  accession,  146. 
Megiddo,  town  and  plain  of,  252,  253. 
Mercy-seat,  symbolic  meaning,  104. 
Measuring  reed,  figurative  meaning,  169. 
Midst  of  the  throne  or  street  explained,  96. 
Ministry  of  the  gospel,  characteristics,  98. 
Michael,  archangel,  202. 
Mohammed,  history  of,  religion,  75,  79. 
Monasticism,  its  rise,  215. 
Mountain,  burning,  explained,  146. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  his  dream,  18;  his  image,  28; 

the  golden  head  of  his  image,  35. 
Nero,  Emperor,  his  persecutions,  death,  109. 
Nestorian  heresy, — Sergius,  a  Nestorian  monk, 

152. 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  exposition,  67. 
Newton,  Bishop,  various  expositions  of,  69. 

234,  264. 
Nimrod  founds  an  empire,  29. 
Nineveh,  its  origin,  30. 
Oath,  proper  form,  167. 
Odoacer,  invasion  of  Italy,  148. 
Origen,  of  Alexandria,  corrupts  religion,  75, 215. 
Orleans,  siege  of,  145. 
Ortogrul  captures  Cutahi,  161. 
Othman  founds  the  Ottoman  Empire,  162. 
'  Otho,  Emperor,  his  defeat,  109. 
Pelagian  heresy,  207. 

Periods,  division  of  Apocalypse  into,  109,  110. 
Phocas,  Emperor,  declares  the  Pope  universal 

bishop,  73. 
Plague,  its  desolations,  120. 
Piedmontese,  persecution  and  massacre  of,  222. 
Polentia,  battle  of,  144. 
Poole,  Matthew,  his  interpretation,  68. 
Porphyry,  his  exposition  of  Daniel,  63. 
Post-millennian  scenes,  300. 


Popery  in  America,  191. 
Presbyters,  their  office,  99. 
Prophecy,  duty  to  study,  11. 
Ptolemy,  Philopater,  his  character,  52. 
Radagaisus  invades  Italy,  144. 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  258. 
Robinson,  Professor,  his  description  of  the  val- 
ley of  Jezreel,  253. 
Rome,  seven  forms  of  government,  210, 261 ,  262. 
becomes  a  province  of  the  eastern  empire, 
149. 
Romish  clergy  classified,  215,  250. 
Romulus  Augustulus,  the  last  emperor,  falls  as 

a  star,  148. 
Sardius  stone,  figurative  signification,  93. 
Saracenic  conquests,  153,  154. 
Saxa  Rubra,  battle  of,  129. 
Seals,  arrangement  of*  in  the  rolled  book,  105  ; 
chronology  of,   109;  first,  109  ;  second,  113; 
third,   115;    fourth,  119;   fifth,   121;    sixth, 
125,  134. 
Second  advent  of  Christ,  290 ;   "  Literalists'  " 

view  of  it,  295. 
Seraphim,  same  as  cherubim,  103. 
Sealed  book,  its  divisions,  108. 
Seljukian  Turks,  history,  161. 
Seven,  number  typical,  95. 
Sigismund,  Emperor,  defeated,  162. 
Silence  in  heaven,  139,  140. 
Sismondi's  history  quoted,  220,  221. 
Sobieski,  John,  defeats   the  Turks,  is    elected 

King  of  Poland,  saves  Vienna,  163,  164. 
Stilicho,  Roman  general,  pursues  Alaric   into 

Greece,  143  ;  his  death,  144. 
Star,  its  symbolical  meaning,  80,  147. 
St.  Bartholomew's  massacre,  223. 
Stone,  the  little,  of  Daniel,  22. 
Theodosius  the  Great,  his  history,  140,  142. 
Theodoric,  the  Ostrogoth,  145. 
The  latter  days,  meaning  defined,  283. 
Time  of  the  end,  its  signification,  282. 
Throne,  representation  of,  94. 
Trajan,  accession,  persecutions  by  him,  114. 
Trumpets,  first,  142,  146;  second,  146;  third, 
147;   fourth,  149;   fifth   or   first  woe,  150; 
sixth  or  second  woe,  157;  seventh  or  third 
woe,  199,  245. 
Valens,  Emperor,  his  death,  140. 
Valerian,  fall  of,  123. 
Valentinian  assassinated,  146. 
Verona,  bjfttle  of,  144. 
Venice,  origin,  145. 
Vespasian  not  the  victor  on  the  white  horse, 

110. 
Vials,   period   first,   245 ;   second,  245 ;   third, 

246;  fourth,  246;  fifth,  246;  sixth,  247. 
Vigilance  characteristic  of  the  ministry,  115. 
Vitellius,  Emperor,  109. 
Witnesses,  their  office,  death,  resurrection,  and 

ascension,  173,  180. 
Xerxes,  47. 
Zuingle,  236,  237. 


THE  END. 


